Stargate Command
by Lordheaven
Summary: AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.
1. The unusual request

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**The Unusual Request**

Captain Benjamin Sisko was in his office pacing restlessly. In his hand, he held yet another pad containing the list of casualties. He stopped pacing. He thought that after bringing in the Romulan Empire things will improve but sadly they had taken a turn for the worse. True, at first they changed things – they won many important battles but then the Founders increased exponentially the numbers of the Jem Hadar. Overwhelmed at places, the Federation and its allies retreated.

Captain Sisko resumed his pacing. His thoughts raced reaching in the darkest corners looking for a way out. But there was no way out. He did all he can to change the outcome of this war. It was the last straw he drew when with cheating and lying he got the Romulans onboard but there was no one left. That was all and it was not enough.

And now he had to post the latest report – the new casualty list. This Friday was grimmer than before as the number of casualties had increased. So far, Starfleet has lost twenty percent of its fleet. The Klingons have lost around there as well and the Romulans, well they were starting to feel the heat as well. There was no way out now. It was all or nothing.

Sadly the way it was going it was probably the latter. Benjamin felt now more than ever the loss of Jadzia. He had now Ezri of course but she was younger and less enthusiastic, more insecure. Benjamin sighed. No, it was Curzon he missed. He could use his friend. Or more to the point, he needed a shoulder to cry on, to lay his head at rest. Yes, he missed his mentor.

Closing eyes for a moment, Benjamin rested then straightening his uniform left his office and went to do the sad duty of posting the list of casualties. Many people had gathered there to take a look, more than usual, and many cried while he had to stay cool. It was a sad day and there was nothing he could do to make it better. But he stayed until all but his senior officers remained.

* * *

"Captain Sisko," The com badge beeped.

"Sisko here,"

"I'm sorry to disturb you Captain but there is a priority one message from Starfleet headquarters."

"I'll take it from here."

Captain Sisko walked to the nearest post and accepted the incoming message. The face of Q filled the screen.

"Q!" Captain Sisko exclaimed and his nostrils flared with quickly climbing anger.

"Benji!" Q replied on the other side. "It is good to see you."

"I wish I could reply with the same."

"Yes, yes, we are not going to dwell on old times." Q said and his voice dropped. He suddenly looked saddened for something. Captain Sisko and the others of course started wondering what new twisted game he was up to. The Q entity had omnipotent power over space and time and was extremely annoying. But of course, they could only wonder why he used the com and Starfleet channels and not his usual way of appearance out of nowhere. "We d…I don't have time for them now and I…"

"What do you want Q?" Captain Sisko abruptly interrupted him.

"I need your help!"

Brazen silence took the room. Captain Sisko stared blankly at Q who was still on-screen. He tried to decide whether it was one of Q's elaborate jokes or something else.

"What?" He asked just to make sure he heard correctly the first time.

"I need your help!" Q repeated with the same low voice.

Captain Sisko walked away from the console reached for the window and sat down. His eyes locked to the screen where Q stared back. He narrowed his gaze and wondered what could drive this omnipotent being to make such a request, for a request it was.

"Q, we don't have time for your games." He said in adamant voice. He was still resisting his original urge. Q was famous for his practical jokes.

"As much as this would satisfy you, Benji, I'm not playing games. The Q continuum needs your help!"

Captain Sisko blinked even harder this time. The Q continuum was the home of these omnipotent beings. If they could not solve a problem why did Q think the mere mortal humans could? And then just in blink of an eye he was the truth in Q's eyes – fear, genuine fear. Sisko could not believe it but there it was. Q was afraid of something, terrified perhaps.

He understood the cloak and dagger approach. The Q could not show fear it would ruin his usual reputation. But Benjamin Sisko had to wonder what could spook the Q?

"Why don't you swoop over and we will talk about it!" Captain Sisko said finally after remaining silent for several minutes surprising mostly his officers.

"If it were that simple Benji, I would have come in the first place." Q replied. "It has taken the Q a great deal of time to set up even this link. We don't usually have any need for crude technology such as yours."

"What?" Captain Sisko was up on his feet staring with disbelief at Q. "You're calling from the Continuum?"

"Yes,"

"This is an occasion."

"Don't mock the situation, Benji!" Q reproached him.

"And why should I believe you? Your credit on credibility Q is not very high."

"Very true," Q said. He then stepped aside and many people dressed in different fashion and some Starfleet uniforms filled the background. Sisko knew the truth though they were all Q. An elderly looking man took his place.

"Captain Benjamin Sisko," He began. "The Q continuum did not select you by chance."

"Oh!"

"You're the link between the space-time of your species and those of the non parallels, creatures like us and those to whom you belong – the aliens that you met the first time you came in this area. Your Bajoran friends called them the Prophets but in many aspects they are like us."

"It is good to know."

"Captain, the Continuum cannot keep up this link for long. As Q explained we are not used to use such crude technology. We don't have much time. The Continuum is in great peril and only you the son of the Prophets can save us now."

"Wow! This is an occasion. It is not every day you hear such a plea."

"Your mistrust of us is understandable, Captain given your experience. But you must put it aside. It is not only the Continuum that is at risk here. The Prophets and all other non parallel creatures are too. A great menace has awakened from the dark veils of your past…"

"My past?"

"No, your species,"

"What menace?"

"I should tell you, Captain. The humans of Earth are not who they seem. Your planet has more secrets than any other in this area of the galaxy."

"What secrets?"

"Dangerous secrets,"

"That doesn't tell me much!"

"We know. Look more carefully at your own past."

"Mister Q, I imagine. Earth's history is six thousand years. It would take me a lifetime to discover all of its secrets."

Q stepped forward again. "Actually, it is not six thousand years, Benji. It is much more than that."

"Really and how long would that be?"

"Several million years, by your timings,"

"Million?" Benjamin Sisko blinked again stunned.

"I should tell you what, Captain." The Elder Q said. "We are sending you the coördinates of a world where you will find more questions but also a lead. Trust us when I say this to you. Your planet has many dangerous secrets. Sadly we cannot give you all the answers. You will have to discover them on your own. It is the only way you'd reach the truth.

I can tell you only this. It is not Zefram Cochran that first met the Vulcans. They have been on your planet almost a hundred and thirty years before that. But this is only a drop in a bigger ocean. This is what you must know – in the year 1997, your world changed drastically and ever since then until the year 2035 it has altered the galaxy itself. In a place of hollowed mountain you sh…."

The transmission suddenly scrambled and it was lost.

"Sisko to Ops,"

"Ops here, Captain,"

"Trace that transmission and try to restore contact,"

"Yes, sir," There was a pause. "I'm sorry, sir. The transmission is gone."

"Did you manage to trace it?"

"It was coming from somewhere around a star twenty light years from here."

"Did you receive any data?"

"Yes, sir, a coded message,"

"Decode it immediately! Sisko out," Captain Sisko looked at his senior officers. He was not entirely sure what to make of all this. "We shall meet in the conference room in an hour. Dismissed."

* * *

An hour later, the senior officers gathered in the conference room. Captain Sisko entered. His facial expression was unreadable. He entered the data received by the mysterious Q transmission. It was the coördinates of a world.

"So the Qs were saying the truth?" Nerys asked.

"Yes," Captain Sisko nodded. "At least this part,"

"So where is it?" Security Chief Odo inquired in his steady tone.

"Its site is about sixty light years away from Earth."

"Hum,"

"Have Starfleet ever been there?" Nerys asked.

"No," Captain Sisko replied and sat down. He was pensive. "I have already spoken with Starfleet Command."

"And?" Odo said.

"And," Captain Sisko continued. "They find it intriguing. It doesn't happen often having the Q Continuum ask anyone for help. Starfleet agrees that something has rattled the Q and if they are but still believe we can solve then we must."

"And if it is one of Q's little jokes?" Nerys asked. She was not convinced the Qs demand was genuine.

"Many in Starfleet share your skepticism, Colonel." Captain Sisko replied. "But the Q elder was strangely precise over two specific years that nothing in particular happened on Earth. Nothing that could show the humans would take their place in the annals of galactic history."

Captain Sisko stood up and called those two years on the screen. "In 1997, fault of an accident stranded USS Voyager there because of an accident."

"I'm familiar with it." Nerys said.

"Good and then in 2035…"

"You were there with Jadzia and Julian." Odo added.

Captain Sisko closed eyes for a moment. It was hearing Jadzia's name. It hasn't been that long since she passed away yet.

"No, it was 2025 but the elder Q was rather specific. He said that in 1997, the course of the human race changed and since we have no sign of that other than Voyager's presence that never happened because the Starfleet of the future fixed it, we definitely have a problem.

Beings as powerful as the Q do not rattle easily nor make such curious and unusual requests or give such specific years for no reason. He said Earth has many dangerous secrets."

"He also said the Vulcans came to Earth circa 1950." Julian reminded. "This is preposterous."

Captain Sisko however did not look like he found it that way.

"Right?" Julian asked.

"As it turns out, they have indeed been there around 1950."

"WHAT?"

"A Vulcan science expedition crash landed near Carbon Creek around 1950. Only one of the Vulcans survived but they recovered her almost a year later."

"I'd imagine the Vulcans were not very happy to share that."

"Not really," Captain Sisko said. "But given the source of the information, they could hardly say it is speculation."

"So if the Q were right about this then…" Odo continued.

"Then they could be right about the other part they are so rattled about." Captain Sisko finished Odo's thought. "Starfleet ordered us to investigate. They will send other ships to help as well."

"The Enterprise, I imagine?" Julian asked.

"Yes, they will be there too." Captain Sisko said.

"But we are in the middle of a war!" Nerys protested.

"Starfleet is aware of that."

"So what? We just abandon everything and go a wild goose chase." Nerys said. "What does Starfleet expect to find and gain from this…" Nerys stopped herself midsentence catching up pretty quickly. "You cannot be serious. They expect the Q to help with the war."

"Well, they think if the Qs owe us then yes essentially," Captain Sisko replied.

"That's preposterous. There is no guarantee in that."

"No, there isn't." Captain Sisko said firmly. "But Starfleet doesn't enjoy mysteries of this kind. If the slightest chance the Qs are saying the truth then we must know."

"And the benefit that goes with," Julian said. The others looked at him. "What? If it is technology that can rattle the Q then the Dominion would not stand a chance. Right, Captain?"

"Yes, Doctor, I believe that is what Starfleet thinks. We leave tomorrow morning. Dismissed,"

* * *

Captain Sisko had much thinking to do. His officers raised a valid panic point. What if it was a joke? But then why the entire Continuum would play along? The other Qs do not share Q's game policy. They would see right through him. But if it was true then what? What in Earth's history of that time period could make the Q so apprehensive? And why aren't they doing something about it? They are omnipotent. It was a curious puzzle.

Captain Sisko understood Starfleet's wishes all too well. It was a very interesting situation. He kept wondering though of the last words of the Q elder. He said a place of hollowed mountain. He kept wondering what he meant. Was he talking about a facility or a base and where is it? It frustrated him that the transmission cut just before they learnt of its site. But then again, the Q elder said they had to learn the truth on their own as it was the only way for them to believe it.

The coördinates given were also a puzzle as Starfleet has never been there. The Q elder said they would find more questions there but also a lead. Captain Sisko kept wondering of the meaning of this. He barely slept that night.

The next morning, the Defiant was ready for departure. Captain Sisko entered the bridge and all his officers were present except Colonel Kira Nerys. Someone had to stay behind and ran the station.

"Sisko to Ops,"

"Ops here," Colonel Nerys replied appearing on the view screen.

"We're ready."

"Good hunting, Captain,"

Captain Sisko sat back on the command chair. "Mr. Nog, clear all moorings, one-quarter impulse,"

"Moorings cleared, departing at one-quarter impulse," Nog replied from the helm.

"Set…"

"Course already laid in, Captain," Nog interrupted enthusiastically.

"Engage to Warp Nine on my mark," Captain Sisko said. "Mark!"

The Defiant's engines kicked in and the ship jumped to warp disappearing in the depths of space.

Nerys watched it leave. She was certain they were going on a fool's errand but Starfleet had given their orders. It seemed they were more important than a war raging across the breath of the galaxy. There were times she could not understand the humans.

Nerys shook head, Starfleet and their strange beliefs. She had to focus on the problems at hand running the station and managing the war. Starfleet had left it in her hands. They did not send anyone to replace Captain Sisko. They had given this responsibility to her. And she was going to make the captain proud.

* * *

The Defiant, after two weeks of hard travel, dropped out of warp above the coördinates provided by the Q. It was a class M world with mountain ranges and lush forests. There was nothing particularly unusual about this planet.

"Standard orbit, Ensign," Captain Sisko commanded. "Mr. Worf, scan this planet,"

"Yes, sir,"

Worf initiated the scan and waited for the result. If they expected to find something interesting they were in for a bad surprise. There was nothing special about this place. The scans did not show any life forms other than local animal life or power signatures of any kind.

"Mr. Worf?"

"Nothing sir." Worf replied and moved aside so the captain could see for himself.

Captain Sisko frowned. There was nothing. A part of his mind agreeing with Kira Nerys about the wild goose chase was saying now – I told you so but the other part did not want to give up this easily. The Q said between 1997 and 2035. If that were true then this place would have been abandoned for more than three hundred years. He also said hollowed mountain.

"Mr. Worf, scan the mountain ranges for hollows artificially created."

"Captain?" Worf looked at him strangely.

"It is what the Q said."

"Yes, sir," Worf resumed the scanning inputting the new limits and soon the scanners found such a place. "I have something."

Captain Sisko moved to him to see. "What do we have?"

"The scans show several such places across this range." Worf showed. "It is definitely not natural occurrence."

"Is it good for us?"

"Yes, captain," Worf replied fully understanding the implied question.

"Alright, let's take a look,"

"Ah, Captain,"

"Yes, Mr. O'Brien,"

"I'd recommend using the shuttle going down there. The ionization of the planet's atmosphere doesn't look very welcoming for the transporters."

"Understood, Mr. O'Brien. Mr. Worf,"

* * *

Worf, Sisko and two security officers of the Defiant took a shuttle down to the surface. The moment they crossed through the lowest layers of the atmosphere the first shock took place. The surface below looked like it had been through one hell of a battle. There were craters all along the surface up until a ledge in the mountain rocks covered in debris.

"Why didn't the sensors pick this up?" Captain Sisko asked. He did not address anyone in particular.

"I'm uncertain, Captain." Worf replied anyway. "It is possible the high concentration of ions prevented the sensors of getting an exact picture."

"It looks like a hell of a battle was fought here." One of the security officers stated the obvious.

"It looks like orbital bombardment." Worf corrected.

"It would certainly explain the high concentration of ions in the atmosphere." Captain Sisko reasoned.

"According to the sensors, it is from energy based weapons."

"What kind?" Sisko inquired.

"Unable to tell, Captain,"

"What?"

"It is unlike anything we've come across." Worf gave the stunning answer. "It is not in the database."

"Alright, so we are at the right place then," Captain Sisko said. The Qs were saying the truth. He had now at least half a dozen questions. "Can you find a place to land so we can reach the inside of the mountain?"

"Yes, Captain," Worf checked with the sensors and quickly discovered such a place. It was on the other side of the mountain range. As they arrived above it, it reminded of the old lanes used for planes to take off. Worf landed the shuttle before the place the sensors said there was an opening leading inside the mountain.

Captain Sisko, Worf and the two security officers left the shuttle. The air was perfectly breathable. They stood a tricoder in hand, before the place where the opening was.

"According to the tricoder, there is an opening here." Worf stated.

Captain Sisko stepped back. "Mr. Worf,"

Worf joined the captain and noticed they stood before a large gate. It was obvious when seen in this perspective.

"We have to find the locking mechanism." Captain Sisko said.

"Right," Worf agreed punching series of buttons on the tricoder. Suddenly, with a loud thud and grinding, the large gate of rock moved sideways revealing darkened space behind it. "It is open."

Taking light torches, Captain Sisko and the others proceeded in. The place indeed looked abandoned for many years. Dust had settled everywhere. Suddenly the light fell on a shape.

"Over here," Captain Sisko said. The others joined him.

The lights surrounded the shape and Captain Sisko gaped in disbelief. The shape was that of a craft but unlike any he has before seen. It was long fifteen meters, made of metal his tricoder could not entirely recognize. Some of the metals could be found on Earth but the others not. It was standing on its landing gears.

It reminded him of a military stealth craft of the twentieth century but it was different. The wing span was different and the height too. There was place for two pilots in the cabin. But the readings Captain Sisko got from the tricoder confused him to say the least.

"According to the tricoder," Worf said examining the data. "This craft has four engines."

"Yes," Captain Sisko confirmed. "Four different types of engines," The data he got suggested – thrusters, rocket boost, main propulsion engines and one other he could not name. It occupied a significant part of aft of the craft. Its design however was unknown to him though it seemed built by humans. This was highly intriguing. "We should go ahead. We will check this craft later."

They left the craft behind and moved on. Soon they located stairs and followed them. At one point, the stairs separated – one going down and one going up.

"Mr. Worf, you and Lieutenant James will take the path down while I and Lieutenant Johansen go up."

"Yes, Captain,"

* * *

They separated. Captain Sisko and Lieutenant Johansen reached the upper floors and continued into a corridor. There were many rooms along the way. Some looked like storages but there was nothing but empty crates in them. There was one room that reminded of a mess hall and another in which they entered was definitely a conference room with chairs turned upside down. It looked like people had left in a hurry.

Exiting, they proceeded further. Walking up some other stairs they found themselves into something Benjamin Sisko could describe as a control room. There were many consoles that fitted the aspect level of technology correspondent to the twentieth century.

Captain Sisko approached them and tried to activate them but there was obviously no power left. He used the power of his tricoder but nothing happened. They were incompatible until suddenly the power came up lighting everything.

"Mr. Worf, did you find something?" Captain Sisko asked tapping his com badge.

"Yes, Captain," Worf replied. "We found a large power generator. We just activated it."

"Did you find anything else?"

"No sir,"

"Then come join us,"

The many consoles flickered into life. As Benjamin remembered theirs names: computers. Of course, they were not nearly as advanced as what they have now but that was normal. They had three centuries to perfect them.

These computers still had keyboards but they were not so difficult to navigate or so he thought. Many of them proved encrypted and even the tricoder could not decrypt them making downloading the data rather difficult.

Captain Sisko stepped back for a moment as something in the design of this room had caught his attention. Behind the consoles, there was a large glass and behind it a protective window made of titanium.

"Lieutenant, see if you can find the locking mechanism for this window?" Captain Sisko said pointing at the titanium protective window.

"Yes, Captain," Johansen replied. Once turned around however his face showed concern. It was not time for them to make this discovery. But delaying it was no longer an option either. They were here already. If he did anything suspicious, Starfleet would start asking even more questions. If they only knew the truth they would be scared though rather impressed. "I can't find anything, sir."

"Let's see." Captain Sisko looked around and soon found a lever that was cleverly disguised and pulled it.

* * *

It was just in time. Commander Worf and Lieutenant James came in.

The protective window lifted and revealed a room beneath. But the sight was most unusual. The four stared stunned at it. On the lowest level the control room overlooked another room, three stories tall at the far end of which the huge shape, flat and round like a pancake set on end. It was a disk, which consisted of two concentric rings inscribed with alien symbols, surrounding a gleaming iris of overlapping steel plates that completely covered the centre.

"What the hell is that?" Captain Sisko exclaimed.

Lieutenants James and Johansen exchanged quick looks and shrugged. "No, idea, Captain,"

"Captain," Commander Worf exclaimed. "There are stairs leading to that door down there. Right from here," And he followed the stairs he had discovered. They led before a steel slide door. With some effort he and Captain Sisko managed to slide it open. They entered into the room containing the strange circle with the alien symbols.

Worf put his tricoder to work but the data he was getting led to more confusion.

"What is it, Mr. Worf?"

"This…um…thing is made of several elements but there are some the tricoder cannot name."

"Cannot?" Captain Sisko looked at him.

"No, Captain," Worf shook head.

"Let me see!" Captain Sisko took a look and agreed with Worf's assessment. But one element caught his attention. It was present in the scan of the craft they discovered before reaching this place. It had a slightly different structure but was essentially the same. This became very interesting.

"Captain, this thing is emitting a low-level radiation."

"What kind?"

"Unknown!"

"Alright, Mr. Worf I had enough of this." Captain Sisko exclaimed frustrated. Worf did not understand his reaction. "Get Mr. O'Brien and the rest of the crew here so we can get to the bottom of this mystery. Contact Starfleet Command as well and tell them we will need some help here."

"Yes, Captain,"

"I'll come with you, Commander." Lieutenant Johansen said. He exchanged another quick look with Lieutenant James. They needed to make contact as well and report this development.

Captain Sisko however quickly fell in love with this strange ring and its alien looking symbols. The data flowing from his tricoder suggested this thing was over ten thousand years old. And whatever it was, twentieth century technology surrounded it.

He imagined the people of Earth might have discovered it though he still could not answer the question that burnt him ever since he came in here. How did the people of Earth reach this world in the first place? It was sixty light years away from Earth. How did they do that? Was it possible aliens abducted them and placed them here? But then if they did why would these aliens build this base with Earth technology? This made no sense to him.

The Q elder was right. He told him he would get more questions. He never truly believed the Q until this very moment. All this was very strange and highly intriguing. Over the past few years, Starfleet has forgotten its core mission exploration and gotten into the war business until this opportunity presented a very teasing and tingling mystery.

* * *

Over the next few days, four Starships arrived in orbit and poured down their people. Mr. O'Brien was still having difficulty decrypting the security protocols of the base's computers, which was to say the least very impressive for technology three centuries behind them. But with the arrival of the USS Enterprise Captain Sisko hoped this problem will exist no more. The Enterprise's computers were more powerful than any of the other ships.

Captain Picard himself came down to the base along his android Commander Data and his first officer Commander William Riker.

"Captain Sisko," Captain Picard greeted.

"Captain Picard," Captain Sisko replied a bit reserved. He still had problem with the Enterprise's captain. It was he that the Borg converted to lead the attack at Wolf 359 where Sisko lost his wife. But over the years, he had come to forgive the captain.

"Starfleet Command is most interested in your findings." Captain Picard said. "Is this it?" He asked pointing at the room three stories beneath them.

"Yes, it is."

"Do we know what it is?" Commander Riker asked.

"Not yet," Captain Sisko replied. "Mr. O'Brian is still having trouble overriding the encryption on the computers."

"That hardly seems possible." Commander Laforge, chief engineer, observed.

"See for yourself, Commander," Captain Sisko said. "The Defiant's computers were not designed to deal with this much data."

"How much data are we talking about?" Picard asked.

"A few hundred Exabytes,"

"WHAT?" Riker exclaimed stunned.

"I know, Commander. Believe me we were just as stunned." Captain Sisko replied. "We discovered several rooms filled with computers. Each of them has diamond isolinear chips."

"Diamond?"

"Diamonds are known to store enormous amounts of information and offer faster…"

"Yes, Mr. Data, we are aware of the diamonds properties." Captain Picard interrupted before Commander Data could give them a very long lecture about it.

"We also found…um… and that is the rather stunning part," Captain Sisko continued. "We found organic computers."

"What?"

"Yes, organic technology,"

"But that makes no sense. Organic technology was never used by Earth. We have never developed in that area."

"I understand your surprise, Commander but there it is. Apparently they have and we never knew about it."

"Are we certain it were people of Earth?"

"Oh, yes, we are! Come with me!" Captain Sisko replied and led the way.

* * *

They came into a room several floors beneath. It looked like an office. It had a very dirty and pale flag of the United States of America and a coat of arms on the wall on which read: United States Air Force. Before it, there was a wooden desk with very pale looking folders that still contained paper files. The files themselves were unreadable.

"That's impossible!" Commander Riker exclaimed.

"It would be difficult to explain why aliens would reproduce an office used by the Air Force." Captain Sisko observed.

"I agree. It would be very difficult." Captain Picard said.

"Even if we believed it, Captain," Riker said. "How did they get here? This planet is sixty light years away. Earth did not have crafts capable of interstellar travel at that time period."

"Well, this is one of the many questions to this puzzle, Commander Riker." Captain Sisko said.

"I still have reservations about this." Riker shared. "This information came from the Q."

"If it was only the Q we know then I would agree with you, Commander, but it came from all of them and they were genuinely scarred. I cannot imagine anything that would make the Continuum scared this much."

"Starfleet agrees on that too and so do I." Picard said. "Somthing rattled them and we have to discover the reason."

"What else have we learnt?" Riker asked.

"Not much, I'm afraid. I'm having people go over the years the Q mentioned. So far, we found nothing." Captain Sisko replied. It was obvious he felt very frustrated and it was perfectly understandable. It was not easy to hide something of this big.

"We'll reach the bottom of this." Captain Picard said firmly. He found this unusual as well. No one can hide such a large and important part of Earth's history without leaving a trace.

* * *

Far away from that planet, at the edge of the galaxy, a gleaming in grey and protected by a shield, a massive city cleaved through space. Its main tower overlooked the buildings below separated in four parts.

On a balcony, almost at mid level of the tower stood a young woman dressed in black leather jacket on whose right shoulder there was a coat of arm in the form of the letter A but with a small circle above it. Her vivid green eyes scanned the space and stars in the distance.

"Colonel Sheppard," A voice interrupted the young woman's focus.

"Yes?"

"We are receiving an encrypted communiqué from Lieutenant Johansen."

"I'll be right there." Commandant Teyla Sheppard replied. She took her eyes off the emptiness of space and moved inside.

The inside was of dark metal with lights coming from the floor and the walls. It had several bridges linking the different rooms on this level. It was the control level of the city and at its far end a familiar shape stood. It was a disk, which consisted of two concentric rings inscribed with alien symbols.

Colonel Sheppard walked past the main controls and stopped at a screen. "Open the channel!" She ordered.

The screen activated and a very distressed looking Lieutenant Johansen appeared on it.

"Colonel," He saluted.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" She asked calmly.

"The USS Enterprise just arrived in orbit of P6W 397. Its computer core is powerful enough to bypass the encryption. They will soon know."

"Do not worry yourself, Lieutenant." Colonel Sheppard said. "They will know something not all. We have the most important information encrypted by the algorithm used once by the Ancients to protect the command master code on the Destiny. Dr. Nicolas Rush, God bless him, made sure of that. Don't worry. They will not break it this easily. They have no idea what to look for."

"I sure hope so, Colonel."

"Is there any development on Earth?"

"Our operatives are in place. We await only your command."

"Good," Colonel Teyla Sheppard said satisfied. Many things were about to change. The children of the Stargate were coming home. "Our time is coming and this galaxy will know the power of Earth soon enough."

* * *

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**Lordheaven**


	2. Unexpected Turn

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Unexpected Turn**

Captain Sisko paced inside the Enterprise's briefing room restlessly. Despite the power of the ship's computer core, they were unable to get access to the main computer core of the human base they discovered on the planet below. A powerful encryption protected the main computer giving them much trouble.

Captain Sisko never thought they would meet such a problem. The technology down there was three century behind the times and yet despite their obvious advantage they were unable to get access to it. Captain Picard shared his frustration. Even with the best xenolinguists their advance was slow.

The door to the briefing room slid open and Commander Riker and Captain Picard walked in, and sat down gesturing Captain Sisko to follow them. He joined them at the table. The three stood silent for some time. Commanders Laforge and Data soon joined them. Laforge seemed even more frustrated than his superior officers.

"Commander," Captain Picard said looking questioningly at him.

"I've hooked Data to the computer and even his positronic neural network was unable to decipher the encryption."

"It is quite fascinating though, Captain." Data shared. "The data encryption does not match anything we have on record. Its structure is very complex. It is highly unlikely twenty-first century humans could have designed it."

"Then who, the question beckons, Commander Data?" Captain Sisko asked.

"Unknown as I said!" Data replied.

"Alright, what have we learnt so far?" Captain Picard asked hoping they have found at least something of value.

Commander Laforge stood next to the screen in the room and activated it. "We know this base was working for twelve years between 2010 and 2022. Its was the Alpha Site. From what we could learn, it seemed like it was the twentieth base to carry this name."

"WHAT?" Commander Riker exclaimed. "How many times was it destroyed? We did not find evidence of continuous bombardment on the planet."

"Um, I think those bases were not on this planet but on others."

"Did it say where?"

"Well, we've uncovered several locations. The closest one is two hundred light years from here."

"I'm sorry, Geordie, did you say the closest one?" Riker looked at him disbelieving.

"Yes," Geordie Laforge nodded. "The other locations revealed bases on three other planets. We've calculated their positions – first one was six hundred light years, second one twelve hundred lights years, and the last about two thousand light years away from Earth."

"But that's impossible!" Riker exclaimed. None of this was making any sense. "How?"

"We don't know yet. Without access to the main computer core, I can't answer that question."

"That is if the answer is there."

"That is true, Captain Sisko." Geordie nodded in agreement.

"This is the most interesting puzzle we've ever come across." Captain Picard said standing up. "Humans of Earth of the twenty-first century reaching almost further than anyone could have thought possible. And all this buried. Gentlemen, such information is extremely hard to hide for such a long period."

"I think we all agree on that, Captain Picard." Captain Sisko said. "Commander Laforge, do we know what the ring-shaped thing is yet?"

"Well, it is puzzling to say the least. Our investigation reveals this device is able to store power greater than the one produced by the Enterprise herself. It is also a super conductor.

Commander Data believes that the symbols on the inner circle and I agree with him represent star constellations. However beyond that we do not know the purpose of this device."

"Given its ring shape, could it be a transport device?" Captain Sisko asked. "A gateway?"

"It is possible!" Data said.

"Data, I think we could manually move the inner circle."

"To what end, Geordie?"

"Well, if it is a gateway then we could activate it. Our readings show it needs power."

"True, Geordie," Data replied pensively. "But we need a lot of power. The power convertors we have are insufficient to that end."

"We could tie in the impulse engines of a shuttle craft. It could suffice starting it."

"It is worth a try, Commander." Captain Picard concluded. "Get on with it!"

"How are they going to do that?" Riker asked. "This ring is in the heart of a mountain."

"Ah, it is no problem, Commander." Geordie replied. "We discovered a shaft above the ring going straight up to the surface. We believe it used to lower the ring down."

"Lower it?"

"Yes, this device weighs six four thousand pounds."

"Thirty two tons?" Riker looked stunned.

"Commander Laforge, do we have a detailed analysis of the ring's materials?" Captain Sisko asked.

"Yes, we do!" Geordie replied. "Now some of these elements are unknown to us but our analysis indicates…" Geordie paused and put on a display. "This element here can if detonated produce a yield greater than several dozen cobalt devices, with the quantities present within the device that is. This element produces a lot of energy, which I believe is the core power element of this device. Still it is my belief the impulse engine will do fine in powering it up.

Now the other elements are on many planets other than Earth that is. The power element however I was unable to find on any of the planets we know. It is definitely not indigenous to Earth.

This is the detailed analysis of the present elements within the device."

The analysis sadly was not telling them who constructed it or what the exact purpose of the device was.

"Power the device and let's find out what it does." Captain Picard said.

"Yes, Captain,"

Commanders Laforge and Data left the briefing room. It was maddening to lose from twenty-first century mystery. The three men felt this frustration.

* * *

On the edge of the galaxy, the massive flying city continued its cleaving through the vacuüm though it was now joined by more than sixty vessels of different designs. Some kept with Earth's old submarines; others resembled fish, third definitely were of organic design and looked menacing, and the rest, enormous ships, like pointing blades or arrows.

Colonel Teyla Sheppard stood on a bridge overlooking the main control room where another ring-shaped device stood. What the Starfleet captains orbiting the Alpha Site did not know was that its name is a Stargate.

A very powerful race called the Ancients built the Stargates over ten thousand years ago. They were the ancestors of the people of Earth. Three centuries ago, the people of Earth discovered it and began exploring the galaxy. They faced many dangerous and perils, and then by the end of 2035, they left Earth for good.

They went into seclusion into the Pegasus Galaxy, which was a feat Starfleet and the Federation could not repeat. It was beyond their ability going beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way Galaxy, but all that was about to change when the children of the Stargate return home.

"Colonel," A major approached her.

"Major McKay," Teyla greeted and smiled though more to herself. Major Connor McKay came more and more often when she was alone, and flirted a great deal. She and he were very much compatible despite their different fields.

"It is a beautiful day." Major McKay said.

This made Teyla smile even more. He was the only one to see day and night in darkness of space, not to mention stating the obvious on many occasions.

"Indeed," Teyla replied completely playing along McKay's thoughts.

"The stars of the Stargate are particularly joyful today. It is a good omen."

"The stars haven't been touched by the humans or their allies for a very long time, Major hence the reason they're happy." Teyla said.

"Very true," Major McKay mumbled then added clearly. "But soon their peace we will disturb it. Do you still think it wise for us to unveil a secret so old? Do you think they are ready?"

"They have conquered the stars, expanded beyond the Earth. Yes, I think they are ready for a few more surprises." Teyla replied.

"But will they accept Stargate Command as an equal?"

"I truly do not know, Connor. If we were in their place, the answer would probably be NO. But hopefully, they are more evolved today and they can see the wisdom in this. They have never dealt with this type of …well everything. We are the experts here. They will share."

"Yes, but they are in a middle of war that they are not winning."

"No, indeed not," Teyla said becoming more serious. It was true the Federation and its allies were not winning the war. "We will help. I have already sent word to Commander Tolvin of the Enlightened Ones. He will send ships and we deal with this Dominion."

"Many things will…" Major McKay did not finish his sentence as everyone onboard knew it. Many things were going to change. All warp civilizations within range were going to fall and the races of hyperspace will rise once more.

"I know." Teyla said. "It is time we get back. The music will begin soon and we need ready."

"In honor of our ancestors,"

"Yes, in their honor," Teyla agreed.

* * *

Back on the planet, Commanders Data and Laforge managed to tie in the impulse engines to the ring-shaped device. Its lights came on but other than nothing happened. This puzzled Commander Data.

"Maybe we should move the inner ring." Geordie suggested. It was their original thought.

They started doing so. The lights had at first come up and then they had extinguished. Now, moving the inner circle, like a tumbler, they started lighting up one by one and then nothing again as the lights went off again.

"Hum," Geordie exclaimed. This was puzzling.

"Geordie," Data said. "If this device is a gateway, it is conceivable that it requires a code."

Geordie slapped himself on the forehead. "Brilliant data. So the symbols represent constellations…so…."

"So?"

"What if they used as map coördinates?"

"It is a possible assessment, Geordie."

"Ok, let's see what happens." They tried again but again nothing. "Alright, let's think this through. We are definitely missing something here."

"Geordie, if it was a course, it would need six points in space to decide the direction and…"

"And," Geordie exclaimed excitedly. "It would need a point of departure. Brilliant, Data. Let's try combining seven symbols."

At one point of course, Geordie realized that the number of computations was in the billions. There were thirty-nine symbols on the device.

"Ok, stop!" Geordie said. "We still do not know how they are calculating distance between two points while using this coördinate system."

"Hum, this is a fair point, Geordie." Data agreed.

"We need to figure this out first."

Geordie and Data had the computer of the Enterprise compile the symbols and name the constellations they represent. With this they were able to find the measure unit. The computer took about two hours to give the necessary information. The determination itself however took most of the day.

* * *

Confident of their findings they plotted the course for one of the abandoned bases that was two thousand light years away. Having the symbols representing the distance, they returned to the device and put them. Again the lights of the device lit up and then went off again.

"Ok, this is interesting." Geordie shared. "We did something wrong."

"I believe it is the point of departure."

"Well we have many tries left."

"Thirty eight," Data stated.

They started working again and finally they managed to get it right though Geordie certainly wished they hadn't. There were four Enterprise crewmen present before the device when they finally managed lighting all seven symbols in the correct order, what transpired next, they were not ready for.

The inner part of the ring ignited in bluish matter filling in the void and an unstable vortex on both sides of the device erupted consuming the ill-fated four crewmen with a whoosh. Only their boots remained.

"Wow! What happened?" Geordie exclaimed horrified.

Data got his tricorder and studied the data. "Geordie, they vaporized."

"Oh, dear,"

Geordie looked at the device and despite the horrific event fell in love with the stilled and shiny puddle that occupied the middle of the device.

"This is fascinating." Data exclaimed while examining the shiny puddle with his tricorder.

"What?"

"Geordie," Data exclaimed excitedly. "We are looking at the event horizon of a wormhole, artificial wormhole, perfectly stable."

"What?" Geordie exclaimed and joined him to look at the data. "We should get this information to the Enterprise."

"Geordie, what do you think is on the other side?"

"That is a very good question. But we can't risk sending someone through."

"But we can send a class four probe."

"Yes," Geordie agreed. "Let's do that."

The two returned to the ship to take a probe with them. It took some time and when they returned they saw the puddle disappear and along with the lights on the device.

"Ha, I suppose we have to do it again." Geordie said then turned to the rest of the Starfleet staff around. "Clear the area around the device. We do not want another accident."

Data and he moved the inner circle again until the lights on the gate lit up. The unstable vortex formed with a whoosh and then stilled shortly after.

"Sending the probe,"

The probe went through and the two concentrated on the data it sent back.

"Fascinating," Data exclaimed. The data they were collecting was such. The probe was on another world and there was another device much like the one they were standing in front of.

"It is a gateway, Data, but it seems to set up the wormhole it requires a counterpart."

"I agree." Data said then noticed something and pointed to it. "Geordie, what do you think this is?"

Geordie took a look at the image. There was another device just a few feet away from the gateway. Driving the probe around, they noticed it covered in all the symbols while there was a large red button in the middle.

"I don't know but it seems connected with the gateway device, somehow."

"Geordie, the symbols there are different."

"Indeed," Geordie agreed then remembering something turned to one of the closest Starfleet crewman. "How long was the device active?"

"I think it is about thirty-eight minutes."

"Thank you, crewman Shultz." Geordie was pensive. "We should report our findings to the captain."

"I agree."

* * *

Data and Geordie left the site of the device and returned to the Enterprise. They found the captain in his ready room. He convened the others so Data and Geordie could make their report.

"We made a fascinating discovery." Geordie began. "Now we know how the humans of Earth were able to set up a base without the use of starships."

"How?" Commander Riker asked intrigued.

"With this device," Geordie said pointing to the screen where a diagram of the Stargate had appeared.

"It is a fascinating piece of technology." Data continued. "It creates a stable artificial wormhole."

"WHAT?" Captain Sisko exclaimed. "Artificial but stable?"

"Yes," Geordie confirmed. "Although we should have taken some precaution while activating,"

"Why?" Captain Picard asked.

"We lost four crewmen when it activated." Geordie said lowering his gaze. "The forming vortex took us by surprise. It vaporized them on the spot."

"Who did we lose?"

"Crewmen Braxter, Shen, Levi and Menson,"

"We shall hold a memorial later. Go on, Commander," Captain Picard said.

"Ah, yes, captain," Geordie said and continued. "We supposed the device is a gate hence we needed a course and as six points in space and a point of departure find the course."

"Thus seven symbols," Data added.

"Yes," Geordie nodded. "Of course, we first needed to find the way this device measures the distance. Once the Enterprise computers computed the most likely combination we gave it a try. The first one was bust as it turned out because we did not get right the last symbol but with trial and error we got it right."

"So where did it lead?" Riker asked.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken it leads to a base two thousand light years away from our current position."

"We also found another device on the other end of the gate. We believe it connected to the gate." Data added.

"Yes, indeed, but we do not know exactly how." Geordie said. "Now, the gate on the other side…"

"Wait a minute, Commander Laforge." Commander Riker interrupted. "There is another gate?"

"Yes, we figured in order for the gate to set up contact we need another gate."

"Go on!"

"The symbols on the other gate however are different from those on this end."

"This is very interesting." Captain Picard shared. "But if we were to send a team through, do you think, Commander, we would be able to return them?"

"Yes, sir, I'm positive. I believe all we need is to find the departure point for the other gate."

"But Commander you said that symbols are different?" Captain Sisko reminded.

"Actually, they are slightly different." Data replied.

"But you are confident nonetheless that you can return?" Captain Picard asked.

"Yes, Captain," Geordie confirmed.

"Because, Commander, if you are wrong, it would take the Enterprise a lot of time to reach you."

"I understand the risk, Captain."

"Very well, you have a go! Take a team with you and find some more answers about the human activity on that planet."

"Captain, I would also suggest Commander Laforge takes a few xenolinguists with him." Commander Riker pointed out.

"Agreed," Captain Picard said and stood up. Straightening his uniform he added. "Dismissed!"

* * *

Geordie Laforge gathered his team and proceeded to the gate. The address dialed and the shiny puddle formed. Commander Data stayed behind if anything goes wrong on the other side while maintaining communication for the next thirty-eight minutes.

"Good luck, Geordie!" He wished. Geordie nodded and stepped through the event horizon momentarily disappearing. His team followed and then the gate shut down much to Data's surprise. "Ensign Sito, redial the gate."

The gate reopened and Data activated his com badge. "Geordie, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Data, loud and clear. What happened?"

"I do not know. The gate shut down right after you crossed."

"It is possible when matter enters it shuts down immediately after the reintegration process."

"It is a distinct possibility." Data agreed. "What can you see?"

"Exactly what the probe saw. The other device is nearby. It is of the same symbols as the ones on the gate." Geordie replied. "I have to study it further to decide if it has any connection to the gate itself, which…." Geordie paused.

"Which?" Data insisted.

"There is a power signature emanating from it. Let me just lift the cover of the middle red button and wow…"

"What is it?"

"There is a crystal inside it. It seems it provides power to the gate itself. I think once the symbols pressed it probably sends a signal straight to the gate."

"Instead of manual dialing…"

"Yes," Geordie said. "Go ahead and explore, ensign."

"Geordie?"

"Um, we are inside some building. There are pictograms on the wall I think they are letters and wow…Data, they are Ancient Egyptian."

"This is curious!"

There was a brief pause. "Data, um, I have to leave now the gate area. It seems Lieutenant Mars has found something interesting outside."

"Maintain contact."

"I will." Geordie replied and then silence.

Data waited patiently.

"Data, this is amazing."

"What is it?"

"There is a pyramid as big the Great Pyramid in Egypt atop the building or more to the point we landed in its lower bowels."

"Fascinating,"

"Other than that there is a lot of desert in every direction."

"Can you pick up any power signatures or life forms?"

"No, the tricorder isn't picking any signs of life."

"Did you discover the return sequence?"

"No, not yet," Geordie said. "But it is somewhere close. We are going to explore a bit."

"Any signs of the base?"

"No, that's why we are going."

"Alright, we'll dial back in an hour."

"Understood, away team out!"

The gate shut down. Geordie and his team left the immediate area around the pyramid and proceeded out into the desert.

* * *

**Planet Earth, Headquarters of the United Federation of Planets**

Admiral Spencer straightened his uniform and entered into the chambers of the presiding council of the Federation. Many have come and not only councilors or representatives of the Federation worlds but there were also many Starfleet officers and home world security.

The admiral noticed the increased presence of Vulcans, Andorians, even Romulans and Klingons. He reached for the podium where the President of the Federation presided and bowed as a sign of respect.

"Mr. President," Admiral Spencer said.

"Ah, Admiral, good of you to join us,"

"May I ask the occasion?"

"Planetary issues, please be seated next to Admiral Seekriff,"

Admiral Spencer was not particularly thrilled of the offer but abided by the president's wishes and sat next to the Andorian.

The president stood up attracting the attention.

"Delegates and honorable representatives of the worlds of the Federation, and distinguished guests," He began. "We have gathered here at this late hour to discuss a disturbing matter."

Silence befell the council's chambers. Many have come but knew not why.

"The war with the Dominion is not going well but this is old news." The president said keeping eye contact with all before him. "For many weeks now, some of you and most of Starfleet's deep range vessels observed strange rifts and unknown ships appearing in certain restricted areas. And until now we did not know their identity."

"But you do now?" The Vulcan representative asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," The president said and lowered his gaze. Sighing deeply and taking a deep breath, he continued though he knew what their reaction would be. "These vessels belong to the human race of the planet Earth."

Uproar filled the council's chambers as the president feared. May representatives were up and gesticulating, shouting and expressing their outrage. Most of those were the ones that have directly observed the vessels appearance.

"Silence, please," The President tried to restore order. After a few attempts he succeeded.

"How did you know that for certain?" The Andorian representative asked.

The next part to follow made the President wish he could be anywhere else now. He did not answer but rather activated the screen. A woman in black leathered outfit with strange coat of arms behind her appeared. She was tall with brown eyes and straight hair falling freely on her shoulders, and beautiful as many noted.

'Who are you? You're human that much is clear.' The voice of Admiral Benson, head of Starfleet replied.

'I am Jeanie Keller, commander of the USS Elizabeth Weir.'

'Never heard of it!'

The said commander moved aside and another woman dressed again in leather attire much similar in figure came next to her but with vivid green eyes.

'Who are you?' Admiral Benson asked.

'I am US Air Force Colonel Teyla Sheppard of Stargate Command and governor of Atlantis.'

'Atlantis?' the Admiral's voice had taken a note of surprise. 'United States of America Air Force?'

'That is correct!' Teyla Sheppard replied.

'The USA do not exist anymore, Colonel. Planet Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets and the ships you dared fire upon are part of Starfleet Command, Earth's finest…'

'Audacity, you are the one to speak!' Teyla Sheppard interrupted. 'Your ships opened fire without any provocation whatsoever and we defended ourselves.'

'Nevertheless, you are not welcome in this sector. This is a restricted area, leave immediately.'

Teyla Sheppard laughed. 'This place has been in the service of the SGC long before you've laid eyes on the stars outside of Earth's orbit, Admiral. This planet belongs to us and no one else as it would soon our home, Planet Earth."

'You're kidding right?' Admiral Benson promptly asked. 'Earth is part of something greater.'

'Earth had been part of something greater long before you and the rest of the planet reached for the stars. The human race is the fifth race of a greater alliance the likes of which you cannot even begin to fathom. But all that is soon going to change. The children of the Stargate are coming home and neither you nor your Federation can prevent that.

We could all be amicable in our meeting and rediscover together our roots and how to coexist or should it come to this we will take it by force. Earth is our home, Admiral Benson. And no one will stand in our path. We can either coexist or one of us is going straight to hell.'

The main view screen went off. The president waited for the inevitable questions and explosion of outrage. But the room before him was silent.

The Vulcan ambassador stood up first and walked to the podium standing before everyone.

"It is clear the human race will be busy in the days to come. These mysterious vessels and their outlandish claim must be examined thoroughly before any information is presented before the council."

"We are in agreement." The Andorian ambassador acknowledged.

"Agreed." The Klingon ambassador said too as did the Romulan.

The other councilors and representatives of the member worlds had no choice but to accept the decision. They had many questions about this but they would have to wait. Nevertheless it seemed the human race had a secret, so secretive even they did not know existed. But the mystery of all remained vivid in everyone's minds.

* * *

Once the meeting ended, the Vulcan, Andorian, Klingon and Romulan representatives followed the president to a more secluded area.

"Mr. President,"

"I know what you are going to say," The president interrupted. "But we do not have much information on the subject. Our teams are investigating the situation…"

"That fills us with so much confidence," Romulan Ambassador Reek'na said.

"I have the Enterprise and the Defiant working on it, Ambassador." The president pointed out.

"Picard and Sisko?" Vulcan Ambassador Tha'ru asked.

"Yes,"

"We did not see them here." Andorian Ambassador Shrin observed.

"They are on a planet sixty light years from here where we discovered the remains of a human base possibly placed there three centuries ago."

"Hardly possible," The Andorian pointed out. "You, Pinkskins, did not have such ability that long ago."

"We are aware of that, Ambassador but there it is. Once the Enterprise and Defiant send their findings we shall have more answers."

"And what of this Stargate Command?" Ambassador Tha'ru asked.

"We have never heard of it. We cannot find anything on it in our database. If they had existed it has been three centuries ago and we do not have much data of that period. Much was lost during the Third World War."

"And Atlantis?"

The president sighed. "Atlantis, Ambassador, is a myth, a legend."

"This legend as you called it has somehow come to life so perhaps you'd indulge us."

"According to legend, the great city of Atlantis, home of the Atlanteans – a highly advanced race, was lost when the raging fires of volcanoes on the continent of Atlantis engulfed the city and it sank to the bottom of the ocean. But no one knows when this occurred let alone where as there is no historical evidence to support that."

"And yet, it has come to knock on your door, as you humans so eloquently put it."

"Mr. Ambassador, I can assure you we are as much in the dark as you are. We have no idea what this Stargate Command is or where this city of Atlantis is coming from."

"Alright, let's suppose you are telling the truth." Shrin said. "How can we help?"

"Anything the Enterprise and the Defiant discover we will share but there might be as Captain Sisko shared a possibility the humans being on other worlds so if that is the case then we will need to confirm it. We will need your help at least in your respective territories."

"Why do you think they may have had bases in our areas?"

"I do not know, Ambassador but this is the preliminary report sent by the Enterprise." And he showed them. Awe replaced their words. "As you can see, we have something that doesn't add so you understand now why. I have assigned the here present Admiral Spencer to coördinate the search in your territories."

"Ambassadors, Mr. President," Admiral Spencer who had remained silent during these deliberations said.

"Meanwhile, we have a war on our hands too." The president said.

"A convenient timing," Tha'ru shared.

"Yes, we find it frustrating too." The President acknowledged.

"Very well, Mr. President, we shall help as much as we can, and divide necessary resources for this venture." Reek'na said in conclusion.

"Thank you,"

The ambassadors left leaving the president alone with Spencer who had the distinct feeling there was more the president wanted to share.

"Admiral," The president said standing up. "This situation, this development, is unexpected to say the least. Its timing is even worse. We fear this might be a Dominion trick hence the reason we are assigning you to lead this investigation."

"You do not believe it could be genuine?"

"We don't know what to believe. The request leading us to this discovery originated from the Q Continuum but we still have reservations. Either this is a trick or we are in a world of trouble for either way the end outcome of this will have serious consequences for Earth and the Federation. But we have to get to the bottom of this nevertheless."

"I understand sir"

"Good," The president said and handed him a pad. "This has your orders. You will report only to me and Admiral Benson and no one else. Is this understood, Admiral?"

"Yes, Mr. President,"

"And Admiral, anything you find is classified above top-secret."

"What of the other ambassadors? I'd imagine they would want us to share."

"We will decide what we will share with them. We are in a very precarious position, Admiral as this situation call blow up in our faces and this is not something we want."

"Sometimes, Mr. President, we cannot control what will happen."

"Very true, but we can try."

"Yes, sir,"

Admiral Spencer left and took a look at his orders. He did not like them at all and no one in his place would for they demanded of him to disobey at least several dozen Federation laws.

Whatever was taking place it was big and it has rattled Starfleet and the ruling council of the Federation a great deal. He also felt the President knew more than this preliminary report and frowned of the mission's high classification. It was something that very rarely occurred anymore.

* * *

Somewhere in Colorado Springs a group of people had gathered on a hill-top overlooking a nice gorge. They were all of different professional background and different levels but they were here nevertheless. They waited patiently.

An elderly man in blue uniform with such a hat and lots of medals approached the group. His hair was turning grey but preserved well for his age. He carried a square box that he promptly put on the ground before the group of people. The lid opened and revealed inside a brownish colored ball that filled in the space inside. The ball rose up and its fullness shifted from browning color to a crystal clear image.

"Major McKay," The elderly man in the uniform greeted.

"General Hammond," Connor McKay replied. "It is good to see you."

"Likewise," General David Hammond said nodding. "Where is Colonel Sheppard?"

"She's occupied at the moment." Connor said. "We are nearly ready. How is it on your side?"

"Well, you impressed the Federation Council. We've got them very rattled."

"That was the general idea."

"Yes, sadly not in the direction we wanted. Colonel Sheppard was very brazen with them and they did not take it well."

"She hardly had the choice, General. The Federation ships opened fire immediately after she dropped out of hyperspace. We think it might have been a misunderstanding but you know her. She doesn't enjoy such…um…well welcoming."

"I see." General Hammond said thoughtfully. "Starfleet assigned Admiral Spencer to oversee the general search of our bases in the major forces in the quadrant. Be careful with him."

"We will keep an eye on him."

"Excellent," General Hammond exclaimed. "Now, here, we are almost ready too. When it hits the fan…"

"We will send the Orion, the Triple Star, the Dauntless and the San Tzu."

"Do not forget who you're dealing with, Major."

"Our ships are more than a match for the Federation vessels, General. We can handle them."

"Let's hope so. But we do not want a civil war."

"No, we don't want that either in light of the current circumstances. Our forces will arrive in two weeks. Be ready, General Hammond. We will be writing history again."

"Hopefully the right way this time around,"

"Yeah, hopefully," Connor agreed nodding. "Atlantis out,"

The crystal ball retook its full brownish color. General Hammond stood still for some moments then turned to the group of people before him.

"Alert all of your positions. It begins in three weeks."

The group of people dispersed only General Hammond remained. His gaze turned towards the nearby mountain. It once contained the most guarded base on the planet and the greatest secret of all times. If the Federation really knew how it began all these years ago they would be surprised of the ingenuity, bravery, courage and that feeling of never giving up that defines the human race.

* * *

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	3. Wrong Address

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 **

**Wrong Address**

Geordie wiped the sweat from his forehead. The scorching power of the desert sun started to annoy him greatly. He unwisely ventured into the desert unprepared but the results of the probe showed rocky formations that could house answers. What he would give for a ship now but sadly none of their shuttles could fit through the narrow space of the gate.

Speaking of ships, Geordie remembered that if they could not find the right answers they would be stuck here for at least two years for that is the time it would take the Enterprise at most warp to come to their rescue. He cursed under breath. He could have chosen any of the other two planets containing bases but he had to choose the furthest one. He thought the distance reason was important for gate travel.

They continued marching though. They had to reach the rocky formations before they become too dehydrated to work. Dying in some god forsaken desert on the other side of the quadrant was not his idea of dignified death. He supposed if they increased their speed they would reach them shortly and shortly being several hours.

"We should pick up the pace." He said to the others and stood up.

"Yes, sir,"

* * *

They all got up and continued. Several hours as predicted they arrived at the foot of the rocky formations. The tricorder's reading indicated there was an entrance close to their place. They circled around and soon found the opening and ventured through. Following the curves in the path before them they reached a larger space but it was mightily dark. The light of their torches was not enough to give them a clear idea where they were.

"Commander," Crew member Jordan called.

"Yes, crewman?"

"Look,"

The crew member pointed at something that resembled baskets with rocks in it. Geordie approached and noticed they were not rocks but charcoal.

"We need light them." Geordie said.

"Yes, Commander,"

Once lit, the large space they were in was in fact a room with glyphs splattered all over the walls. Sadly they did not make much sense.

"What kind of language is that?" Geordie wondered aloud.

"Some of it is a language but there are symbols that are not." Lieutenant Nahuro shared.

"Which symbols?" Geordie asked.

"These," Nahuro pointed.

The symbols in question were vertically displayed. Geordie quickly noticed a pattern. They were in groups of seven and then it hit him. They were the star coördinates. Those were in fact gate addresses. It was a stunning discovery.

He had thought of dialling the other two planets where the humans had bases but then a question stopped him. He thought at first it was a cause of distance but then another thought climbed in his mind right this instance. What if they did not have gates? So could the one he dialled be the only gate? But now this map of symbols suggested a larger system of gates. Of course he had first to calculate their positions and without Enterprise's computer that may take a very long time.

"What of the part that is a language?" Geordie asked.

"Well, for one, I can safely say, Commander, it is a very old dialect of Ancient Egyptian."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive but my knowledge of this dead language has its limits. I did not count on finding something this old or dead."

"None of us did, Lieutenant but this is why you are on the mission."

"Yes, sir, I shall do my best."

Geordie and his team spent the next few days studying the scriptures and recording the map using the probe as the tricorders sadly could not take pictures. And also unable to contact the camp base near the gate or Data who undoubtedly has dialled every hour or so they headed back.

But they quickly discovered the error of their decision as a very nasty sandstorm occupied the desert, leaving them with no choice. Sadly the probe was not so fortunate. They lost it in the first few minutes. Coughing hard Geordie and his team returned to the glyphs' room.

* * *

Across the galaxy, Admiral Spencer arrived at Star base 24. His ship the USS Admiral Pike docked at bay six. Commander Hestra regional Starfleet commander of the area greeted him.

"Admiral Spencer,"

"Commander," Admiral Spencer replied with a kind nod.

"Welcome to Star base 24,"

"Thank you,"

"I will show you to your quarters."

"Perhaps later," Admiral Spencer declined politely. "Have the other commanders arrived?"

"Almost,"

"Almost?" Spencer looked up raising an eyebrow.

"We await only the arrival of Commander Talis of the Andorian High Guard."

"So the others are here?"

"Yes,"

"Good,"

The two continued walking silently. Commander Hestra knew from experience that Admiral Spencer speaks only when he feels it and it is unwise to speak about mundane things that have no relevance to him or his present assignment. In many aspects the Admiral was like a Vulcan though he did not have their reserved calmness and patience.

"How many ships have the other governments provided?" Admiral Spencer broke the silence after a while.

"Ten, two each," Commander Hestra replied.

"Ten? Two each?" Admiral Spencer frowned. So, only five governments were going to take part in this venture. "Whose?"

"There are two Vulcan deep exploration vessels class T'Pau, one Klingon research vessel and one very old warp Seven Bird of Prey, one old Romulan research scout and one new, two star ships class Nebula, one Tellarite scout vessel and yours, Admiral."

"I feel so much relieved." Admiral Spencer observed sarcastically. It would seem the other governments were not taking this assignment seriously at all. For them it was obviously a joke and he was right in the middle of it. And he did not enjoy it even one bit.

The captains of the said vessels however were aboard the station and they were almost as laughable as the vessels they commanded apart from the Starfleet crews. Spencer's confidence in this venture started to waver.

These ships barely had scanning abilities let alone help them find traces of human bases in this area of the Alpha Quadrant. And if faced with combat situation, the only ship that can be counted would be his. Yes, his confidence was definitely going straight to hell.

Of course, Starfleet would not consider or take seriously anything coming from the Q Continuum. Its most prominent member Q was well-known for his practical jokes and thus no one believed him even if he had enlisted some of his fellow Q to help.

This assignment was essentially a farce. But then again, he wondered why Starfleet had chosen the Enterprise and the Defiant to lead the investigation. Perhaps not all admirals thought it was a joke. For if it could be true then it can have tremendous effect on the Federation and could rewrite history as they know it because it is one thing for humans being displaced by aliens and another by themselves.

Everyone believed Cochran was first but what if he wasn't. What if the humans made contact long before that? This would definitely be something worth. But still even he had his reservations. Humans reaching out in space further than anyone could have thought possible seemed farfetched. And how was it that none of the other race have ever come across them? It was a curious puzzle and worth unveiling.

* * *

Captain Sisko paced again aboard the Defiant in his tight quarters. This mystery the Q had thrown at them was getting on everyone's nerves and though the exploration spirit of Starfleet had been reborn in them they were unable despite all their advancements to solve it and it maddened them.

What could the humans of three centuries ago have come across that was so powerful, so enigmatic and so unsolvable three centuries later? Of course, this gate device was part of the puzzle. But did they build it? Of course not, the synthetic commander Data argued it was not their doing but then whose.

There were many advanced and powerful races in the galaxy. There were even those that built gateways that could literally go anywhere but he and the Jem Hadar had to destroy them. Hell, even Picard had come across something similar. And this bore a curious question. Did these races built theirs based on this gate device? Or was it the other way around? Who was the race that built this gate device?

Commander Laforge had been now gone for more than a day and still no word. Captain Sisko wondered if the commander's confidence was not misplaced. So far, every deduction and assumption they have made had turned out wrong. They never thought technology three centuries past the times could deter them and yet here they were at the Alpha site unable to crack the computer defences.

Chief O'Brien and his team had worked around the clock for the past week to bypass the defences and so far nothing, zip. At the very least, they activated the systems aboard the plane they discovered in front bay of the Alpha site. And even he had to admit it was an amazing piece of engineering.

Made for atmospheric and space combat it was something that could easily be a fighter/interceptor. Its speed was remarkable for a vessel of that time period. Of course, its armament was not that impressive. It had only bullets and missiles none of which could damage even a shuttle of their time period.

The interesting part according to Mr. O'Brien was the technology used in that craft. He believed part was human while the other part wasn't. The trouble was they had nothing on the record about that other part. No knowledge of the race that had such technology. So they were back at the curious questions – what did the humans of three centuries come across.

* * *

"Captain Sisko," His com badge beeped.

"Yes, Commander?" Sisko clearly heard Worf's voice.

"Captain Picard requests our presence at the Alpha site."

"Did he say what it is about?"

"A break through,"

"The computer core?"

"No, Captain,"

"Alright, I'll be right there."

Captain Sisko straightened his uniform and left his quarters. On the way he met with Worf and they both headed for the transporters. Soon they materialized outside the front bay of the Alpha site. Captain Picard waited for them along Commander Riker.

"Captain Picard," Captain Sisko called. "It sounded urgent?"

"Yes," Captain Picard nodded. "Come with us."

* * *

Captain Picard led down to the one of the briefing rooms that had been now restored to its original beauty. At the table they saw Guinan, the Ten Forward's barkeeper and Sisko wondered what she was doing there.

"Is it drinking time?" Captain Sisko asked.

"Hardly, sit down, Captain," Captain Picard gestured. They all sat down. "Captain Sisko, I'm sure you know Guinan."

"Yes, we have met." Sisko acknowledged her with a nod. "What's going on, Captain?"

"Well, Guinan came to see us on the surface and she took peek inside our bird parked in the front bay. Curiosity, I imagine but well placed, because now we have a break through. Guinan?"

Guinan sighed looking at the people gathered around them. This was one story they would not enjoy hearing. Her people lived long sometimes too long. And this is one story she had hoped to forget. She recognized the matrix used by the humans on that craft. It came from a terrible race just as bad as the Borg though in different way.

"I recognize the power matrix used in that craft. It...it belongs to a race named – the Goa'uld."

"Goa what?" Captain Sisko exclaimed. "Never heard of it,"

"Be grateful of that fact, Captain Sisko," Guinan said. "The Goa'ulds are a parasitic race..."

"Parasitic? How?" Commander Riker asked.

"They need hosts to exist. Essentially they own the body they occupy suppressing the host's consciousness but that's only half of the story. Though the host's consciousness goes to the back the host is not unconscious. The host can see everything through his own eyes, hear everything with his ears and speak through his mouth but none of the action is his.

The parasite possesses extraordinary regeneration abilities. It would take a phaser set on kill to just stun a body occupied by a Goa'uld. If the body becomes useless, the Goa'uld can leave it and infest another.

The parasite sets in the stem of the brain and rounds itself around the upper throat. Any attempt to remove it by force results in the death of the host as these things release a toxin in the bloodstream for which there is no cure.

These creatures, Captain, are an enemy you do not wish to come face to face. They have some notion of honour but only when it serves their purposes. In essence they were evil to the core. They also pass their knowledge to the next generation..."

"Genetic memory?" Captain Picard interrupted.

"Yes," Guinan nodded.

"How do you know so much about them?" Captain Sisko inquired.

"My people, Captain, live long. We have come across them at a time at which they controlled this galaxy."

"Controlled the galaxy?"

"Yes, they had been in control for the last five thousand years."

"What?" Captain Picard exclaimed stunned. "But Guinan, if they truly had then how come the other races know nothing about them?"

"Oh, some of them do they just choose to forget." Guinan replied. "Captain, the Goa'ulds are a plague maybe just as bad as the Borg though in a different way. The Borg decimate and assimilate everything in their path while the Goa'ulds, well, they conquer and force the inhabitants to slavery while posing as Gods."

"Wait a minute!" Commander Riker interrupted. "You said they controlled past tense. How come?"

"Everything I know is that their main force a race of warriors called the Jaffa rebelled and with outside help managed to defeat the Goa'uld. We...never really knew who but my people are grateful.

We had many colonies before and almost all of them was under the control of the Goa'uld. Then we were free but as you know the Borg showed up and we lost everything, scattered throughout the stars, homeless."

"When were they defeated?"

"Over three centuries ago,"

Captain Picard became pensive as did Captain Sisko. They both had the same thought. And at the same time wondered how it was possible for this was too much of just a coincidence.

"Thank you, Guinan!" Captain Picard said. "Anything else you remember, communicate it to Chief O'Brien and Commander Worf."

"Of course," Guinan said and left.

"Ok, it is getting interesting." Riker shared pulling backwards in his chair. "I think everyone has the same thought."

"Yes, Number One," Captain Picard nodded.

They all had the same thought. It was too much coincidence to ignore. It would seem the humans indeed had many secrets. And one of them involved fighting a galaxy dominating race strangely named Goa'ulds with even stranger subservient race named Jaffa.

"So our human friends of the twenty-first century built a fighter/interceptor using human technology of the time and reversed engineered it?" Captain Sisko summed it up.

"It would seem so."

"But then why is there no record anywhere of that?"

"That is the far more disturbing question, Captain Sisko." Captain Picard said pensively. He thought about it ever since they came here. He imagined something as big as that was not easy to hide. Obviously it had been part of a top-secret project hidden from the general population.

* * *

But Captain Sisko was right. There was no record of that. Following the aftermath of the Third World War, all top-secret projects came to light. Shortly after, Starfleet came into existence.

Of course many records of the time did not survive. And it seems one of them rose from the ashes. The thing he did not understand was the Qs. Why would they be afraid of the human race? When they first met they displayed unimaginable power. So what could make the Q cower in fear and terror?

Q did mention that before the humans were far more interesting than now. Jean-Luc Picard has always thought he referred to the times of the French Revolution, the US civil war but now he was not so sure. Did he mean the galactic war involved these Jaffa and Goa'uld, and the humans in between? There was no answer. And again the most important question was why. Why were the Qs afraid?

Why was Q the first time so hell-bent on stopping the human race from leaving their solar system if they had already done so? What were they really afraid of? There are many space faring races out there but the Qs never bothered any of them in such fashion. Why? Why the human race? What were they really afraid of?

Q had said it is because they are afraid what the humans would do in time but now he was not so sure. They had come to learn that Q's thoughts and intentions unfold slowly. They never speak the truth right away as it takes time to show their true intention. And yet Q had uncanny understanding of the human race even if he would never admit it. Why else would he keep showing? Jean-Luc has always thought they missed being corporeal and perhaps that was still the case. But now the question became more powerful than ever – who were the Qs?

"Alas we need more information."

"Captain?" Commander Riker looked at his captain questioningly.

"We've just scratched the surface, Number One. If a secret this big has been kept from us for so long why did the Q tell us now?"

"They said the Q Continuum was in danger." Commander Riker replied.

"Captain Picard raises a valid point." Captain Sisko agreed. "Why now? Why not gloat about it before?"

"Maybe because they chose to forget as well like Guinan said about these Gulds."

"Maybe or maybe not, or maybe they were afraid of something else."

"Of what Captain?" Commander Riker looked at his captain perplexed.

"They were afraid we remember whatever it is they are so rattled about."

"But we do not."

"No, and that's why Q started bugging us so much. Keep us in line. Hell, even judge us. But now behind the veil of lies there might be another reason."

"But why tell us now? If this danger they are afraid we remember why set on the course to remember it?"

"That is obvious, Number One. By now, despite all, the Qs have come to trust us, have come to trust we will do the right thing even by them and because it seems they do not want a direct confrontation with whatever or whoever scares them."

"But why would they be afraid, Captain. They are omnipotent and immortal."

"Maybe they are not as untouchable as we thought." Captain Sisko reasoned.

"I agree." Captain Picard shared standing up, straightening his uniform and walking to the window overlooking the room where the gate device was. "We've seen examples before of Qs killed by their own kind."

"We just, Commander Riker, never knew we could kill them." Captain Sisko added after the trail of reasoning of Captain Picard. "For, they have left us in the dark there. They have done everything in their power to convince us they are untouchable. And besides, you never advertise weakness to the enemy as dangerous as this one."

"Agreed." Captain Picard nodded.

"So whatever or whoever they are afraid of has a way of fighting them or perhaps destroy them." Captain Sisko continued.

"Which explains their fear and why they haven't taken care of it," Commander Riker finally understood their point of view. It was a scary thought though for despite everything Q had thrown at them he possessed extraordinary power that the galaxy could benefit from. And Riker reasoned that in spite of themselves, they were now helping them.

* * *

Geordie took a peek outside. The damn storm was still going on. Dreadful weather, he thought to himself. Well, at least that left him with the opportunity to study the room they were in. But then again without Enterprise's computer core he could not make much progress. Though, he already knew how to calculate the planetary distances the map here was very old and probably out of date but he got to it anyway.

The interesting thing about any discovery was the puzzle, the challenge it presented and Geordie did love challenges where the odds are not in his favour. And here he was so much out of his depth. This would be better suited for astrophysics' expert than him. Of course plotting courses and spotting patterns was his thing.

In this room, he noticed once again the gate element. If they could only decipher the language but sadly his linguists were not up to speed with dead ancient languages. The patterns, the gate symbols however suggested a larger network of gates but once again without the help of Enterprise's computer core he did not hold any hope of placing them correctly in the night sky.

"Commander,"

"Yes?"

"I think we found another chamber."

Geordie contemplated at the gate map before he moved to see what the others may have uncovered. It turned out a smaller chamber behind a pictogram of an eye and as Geordie noticed it was the all Seeing Eye. It was often associated with the Egyptian Sun God Ra. It did not contain anything of significant interest.

The only thing that caught Geordie's eye was a map so to speak of the planet they were on. It described a city or a mine it was difficult to tell and not far from their current location.

The storm outside subdued the next morning and they set off to find this city. Soon they saw it in the distance but as it turned out it was not a city. Geordie's original assessment proved more accurate. It was a mine. The tricorder confirmed the gate element. It emitted low-level radiation. Geordie took with him a few samples.

On the way back to the gate, they noticed the rocky formation. Thinking they are the same they headed there. Arriving at the foot, Geordie noticed they were different. But there was an opening and driven by interest they ventured in and how good it was as they discovered more of the gate symbols. But these were only six and only one set.

Geordie made the logical assumption it showed the gate address to the way back. But the trouble was the lack of the last symbol, the point of departure. He logically reasoned that it had one of the other thirty-eight symbols remaining. He was going to go ahead the same way as before. Armed with hope Geordie and his team returned to the gate camp.

There the gate had just activated. Data was calling again.

"Geordie, come in!"

"Hey Data," Geordie replied.

"Where were you?"

"We have been exploring a few caverns several kilometres away from the gate. But yesterday a pretty nasty sandstorm hit and communication was not possible."

"I understand."

"We did find something interesting though."

"What?"

"We found the return address. Sadly it is again with six symbols. I have to dial it one by one to find the right combination."

"It is good to hear. Did you find any remains of a human's base?"

"No, none,"

"We await your return."

"Good, see you in a few hours,"

* * *

The gate deactivated and Geordie got to work. At some point of manually dialling he decided to test anyway the device before the gate. As his hypothesis suggested, it meant to dial the gate remotely.

The dialling got a lot easier. He managed to acquire the right combination. His team gathered around and proceeded into the gate.

"Data, we are coming in."

No response came however but Geordie associated it with possible interferences, and proceeded. His breath taken away when he arrived on the other side. He was definitely not in the gate room of the subterranean base of the Alpha site. In one moment he realized his recklessness and arrogant assumption but it was already too late. The gate shut down behind him.

"Commander, where are we?"

"That is a good question lieutenant." Geordie replied but truthfully he had no idea. Their torch lights came to life. Studying the environment around showed him they were inside some metallic room the material of which he was not able to name. "Let's go ahead with caution." Geordie advised.

As they moved away from the gate and further into the room lights appeared from the floor and the walls startling them a great deal.

"Who's doing this?" Lieutenant Nahuro asked seeking the source.

Geordie turned his head around but did not see anyone and besides the tricorder did not show any life forms in the nearby vicinity. "I think it comes on its own." Geordie observed.

He was not very wrong though. The lights came up one by one on their own. Proceeding up the stairs that had become more visible due to the lights revealed a half floor with consoles on them. Geordie moved to those and removing the covers gaped.

The controls sadly were not in English as he had expected but in an unknown language or so he hoped it was a language made of thick and thin lines.

"Start looking for the life support if we can find it." Geordie ordered.

He began studying the controls himself too. There were certain things that were the same for all races regardless of the language barrier and they were easier to spot for someone of his skill set.

The way these consoles were Geordie determined they are responsible for operating the gate and secondary systems. The primary system however eluded him. He tried dialling the gate only to discover an encryption level his tricorder was unable to decipher.

Geordie sat down. He needed to clear his head. Over the past few days, he met with the tantalizing frustration of being unable to find out how a technology worked. So far, of every race's technology known and unknown he had always been able to at least activate it but here he met his equal.

He was definitely missing something. He just did not know what. He thought of the first human explorers when they faced similar problems but no, Geordie thrust head, they haven't dealt with such problems. Or have they? The gate device, he was certain was not built by the humans. So if they had come across it and managed to make it work then why can't he.

Humans' technology of the time was less advanced than the one now. So why were they having such a difficulty? It was getting very frustrating and annoying.

"Commander Laforge, I think you should come to us." Lieutenant Nahuro called over the com badge.

"Come where?" Geordie asked tiredly.

"We are two levels down. I'm sending Crewman Jordan to show you the way."

Jordan arrived shortly and took him down the corridors and some other stairs leading down. The sight before Geordie's eye was impossible.

"I think we are on a space station, Commander." Nahuro shared.

And he was not wrong for they were but its site was the most stunning part.

Geordie opened his mouth and then closed it. His mind had trouble processing their current location but there was no mistake.

"Earth..." Geordie said finally able to overcome his first shock.

In the not so distant horizon, the blue ball stood suspended into the black ocean of the cosmos.

"I estimate we are some hundred and a half thousand kilometres from Earth." Jordan notified having consulted the data streaming from his tricorder. "But how did we end here, Commander?"

Geordie was already having an idea about that. "I think the address was for Earth."

"But how is it that our orbital stations, the moon station and the passing ships never picked this place?"

"This is an interesting question, Jordan, but not impossible to answer. Space is after all rather big." Lieutenant Nahuro said.

"Lieutenant, space is big, but we scan everywhere. We can see this place."

"Not if its power is down," Geordie reasoned. "And as such, the scanners would consider this place flying debris."

"Yes, sir,"

"We have to find a way to contact Starfleet. Fan out and find anything that could help us in that regard." Geordie ordered.

"Sure, Commander,"

* * *

Meanwhile on the Alpha Site, Commander Data pointlessly awaited his friend's return through the gate. But the gate did not activate and losing patience though Data would never characterize it as such dialled back. The gate activated and he pressed his com badge.

"Geordie, Geordie, come in,"

But there was no answer. The com badge was silent.

"Scan all frequencies," Data ordered.

"Scanning complete, there is no answer on any."

"Impossible!" Data exclaimed. "Rescan,"

"I'm sorry Commander. There is nothing there. No fluctuations no interference,"

"But if there is no...then where are they?" Data said confused. "Re-establish contact with the probe."

"I've tried sir, but the probe isn't responding. So it was either destroyed during the storm Commander Laforge met or it isn't there."

"Commander Laforge took two class four probes."

"I'm sorry, there is nothing there."

Data was pensive. "Send another probe and find them."

"Yes, Commander,"

But the released later two probes scanned the perimeter around the gate and the rocky formations and other than the wreckage of one of the probes found no evidence of life.

This made Commander Data very concerned. He apprised the captains of this new development.

"But if they are not on the planet? Where are they?" Commander Riker argued.

"I do not have the answer to this question, Commander." Data replied.

"Data," Captain Picard said. "You said Geordie was on his way back with the dialling coördinates?"

"Yes,"

"Could he have miscalculated and ended up elsewhere?"

"It is a possible explanation though we have no evidence to support it. The thirty-nine symbols represent a possibility in the..."

"We are aware of the statistics, Commander Data." Captain Sisko interrupted. "But you already said that he had the first six and that leaves only thirty-nine possibilities."

"Very good point, Captain Sisko," Commander Riker nodded. "Data, you and I are going to use the computer to compute possible destinations and we are going to dial them one by one."

"Are you suggesting we go to that planet, Commander?" Data asked.

"Why?"

"I think I understand why." Picard shared. "The address Commander Laforge found was meant to be dialled from that planet back to the Alpha Site thus we cannot dial the same address."

"Why not?" Commander Riker asked perplexed.

"Number One, if you dial your own number you will get a busy signal."

"Oh, good point,"

"Unless," Captain Sisko cut in. "Unless it was not the return address."

"What do you mean?"

"What if that address as you call it, was not meant for the Alpha Site but rather a different destination?"

"Good point," Riker said.

"And if that is the case we do not need the other thirty-nine symbols."

"We don't?"

"Of course, you're right, Captain Sisko." Captain Picard said slapping himself on the forehead. "We already have the last symbol from this end."

"I'm not sure I'm following you sir."

"Number One, it is very simple. Every address needs a point of departure. For the planet where Commander Laforge was and for this one these symbols are different. But we already know this one."

"I see now. Of course," Riker slapped himself. "Commander Data, dial the gate..."

"I wish I could."

"Why not?"

"We don't have the gate address, do we Commander?" Captain Sisko asked.

"No," Data shook head. "Commander Laforge did not share this information."

"But he did find it on the world."

"Yes, sir,"

"Data, use the probes to find it. Sadly we cannot risk sending anyone else." Captain Picard ordered.

"Yes, Captain,"

* * *

Admiral Spencer stood in the observation deck of Star Base 24. His so-called fleet departed to scan the immediate vicinity around the nearest planets seeking human settlements that match the given description of twenty-first century technological parts. The admiral was not certain what would this do but he had his orders.

The first of the ships, the Tel-ice, presented the first report and it was negative. The Vulcan science vessels reported shortly of having found some debris but not why. The rest of the reports flew in as well also with negative results. They ordered them to continue to the next sector.

The admiral did not expect anything to come from this pointless search and rather ridiculous assignment, which is why he was dully surprised when the Venice, a class Nebula ship, called in.

"I have Captain Kendra on the line, Admiral," Commander Hestra reported.

"Put her on!"

"Admiral,"

"Captain,"

"We found something."

"Define something, Captain,"

"Our sensors picked up the indicated trail. We followed it to search grid twelve."

"And?"

"I think you ought to see for yourself, Admiral."

"Display it!"

"Switch to external view!" Captain Kendra ordered.

Admiral Spencer's jaw fell to the floor at the sight. Four crafts with extended wingspan and broken cockpit protective windows floated close one to another in debris of metal and rocks. But what surprised the admiral was what was visible on the wing spans. It was the insignia a circle with three letters, three letters in English SGC.

"Bring them in for study!" Admiral Spencer ordered. "And continue the search in that area. There might be more of those!"

"Yes, Admiral,"

The admiral surprised because as he remembered his lessons of Earth's aviation history those crafts were Stealths but they did not have space flight ability and finding them so far away from Earth was surprising to say the least. He could not think of any reason for any alien race to just take them.

The crafts came in and the techs started working on them. Admiral Spencer went to check on the work. He arrived at dock bay four. It was then he noticed those crafts were not Stealths though they were certainly resembled them.

"What do we have, Lieutenant Max?" The admiral asked.

"I'm not sure, Admiral."

"What?" Admiral Spencer's eyebrow flew in the air.

"My preliminary analysis of these crafts suggests they are space combat capable."

"Come again?" The admiral displayed his shock. "Space combat?"

"Yes, Admiral," Lieutenant Max replied. "This material is an alloy that allows sustaining higher speed and resists spatial radiation."

"Are we certain these crafts are from the twenty-first century?"

"I'm positive of that, Admiral."

"Lieutenant, couldn't they have built them for space flight and not space combat?"

"That was my thought too Admiral but they had space shuttles. And these crafts are armed to the teeth. These slots here contain an impressive collection of railgun bullets capable of penetrating even reinforced hulls achieving a speed of two thousand kilometres a second. And here we have missiles. Usually used for aerial combats, so yes, I'm confident of the combat side."

"That is most intriguing." Admiral Spencer said. "But how were they deployed into space? These crafts cannot be mounted on..."

"Oh, actually, they can be mounted on rockets and deployed in space."

"Lieutenant, it would take a lot of rockets to deliver a sizable force into space. I doubt they built only these three."

"I agree and such an act would not go unnoticed but this is as much as we have learnt so far."

"Keep me posted."

"Yes, Admiral,"

This was truly a curious surprise. The fact that the human race managed even in the twenty-first century to build space capable crafts under the noses of most space faring races though of course when no one paid attention to the human race. Still, the other countries of the world couldn't be involved into this project. But to go unnoticed by everyone takes a lot of power and money.

This was a curious mystery. What did the President say? The Q promised a lead that would give more questions. He began agreeing with him. Or was it more questions that will give a lead? Anyway it was an interesting puzzle three centuries old.

* * *

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	4. Homeworld Station One

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Homeworld Station One**

The analysis made by Lieutenant Max gave unexpected results. He presented personally his report to the admiral who at this moment talked with Starfleet Command.

"Ah, Lieutenant, enter," Admiral Spencer gestured. "I take it your report is complete?"

"Yes, Admiral," Lieutenant Max replied swallowing.

"Well then as you can see Starfleet is breathless for it. Get on with it."

Lieutenant Max nodded. He entered some command in the control console and a hologram of the found crafts appeared.

"Admiral Spencer, Admirals," Lieutenant Max said turning to face them. "My analysis of the crafts supports my original assessment of them. The crafts made for atmospheric and space combat..."

"Forgive the interruption, Lieutenant Max," Admiral Nechev said. "We've read your preliminary report on this matter. Your suggestion that these crafts mounted on rockets and exported into space, is to say the least unsupported..."

"With all due respect, Admiral," Admiral Spencer interrupted. "Rockets of the time are fully able to deliver them but we do agree that it is unlikely."

"Actually, you are right Admiral." Lieutenant Max said. "They were not brought to space in that fashion."

"Thank you!"

"But mostly because they do not need to..."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, Admiral, they are space combat capable and fully able of reaching orbit on their own."

"What?"

"Yes," Lieutenant Max nodded. "These crafts have four types of engines. They have thrusters, manoeuvring jets and a rocket booster that has enough thrust to propel the craft into space without other aid..."

"Lieutenant," Admiral Nechev interrupted. "You said four types of engines and so far you've cited only three."

"Yes, Admiral, I was getting to that." Lieutenant Max acknowledged with a nod. "The fourth type of engine is, I'm sorry to say, a complete mystery."

"What?"

"I have no idea what it is. But by the amount of energy requirements we found into the database I think this craft can go faster than the speed of light, considerably faster..."

"How is that possible?"

"How sure are you?" Admiral Spencer inquired.

"Well, this is the energy need for this engine according to its database and as you can see the energy output is bigger than that of a Class Four space shuttle. This thing whatever it is can theoretically go faster than a warp six shuttlepod."

"But that's impossible!" Admiral Spencer exclaimed. "The people of the twenty-first century did not have faster than light ability."

"Admiral, we didn't think they possessed anything remotely resembling this thing and yet here it is eighty light years away from Earth." Lieutenant Max countered. "How?"

"Lieutenant, are you able to power up this engine?" Admiral Nechev asked.

"Yes, I think our power converters can handle it."

"Then do so,"

"Admiral?" Admiral Spencer looked at her.

"Let's see what this craft is really capable of!"

"Yes, admiral,"

"Keep us posted of your progress, Lieutenant. That would be all!"

"Admiral Nechev, Admiral Spencer," Lieutenant Max nodded and left.

Admiral Spencer stood perplexed. This new information put things into a different light but he did not believe it possible. History clearly recalls that the Phoenix was the first ship to break the light barrier. How was it possible that a ship predating the Phoenix was able to do that? There was something fishy about this.

* * *

Geordie Laforge and his team covered now about half the space station they were on but without any success of accessing the primary systems. They remained dormant. Sadly the secondary systems did not contain the communication protocols that puzzled him greatly.

Usually communications were primary and secondary systems at least on a starship or star base but this was neither though of course it was logical even for that time period. What would the occupants do if their primary systems cut off? It was a curious puzzle.

Of course Geordie now knew that part of the station was active so the active scanners of Starfleet orbital stations will pick them up. And soon someone will send at least a probe to check it out. But then again they may not. Lieutenant Nahuro was right there was a lot of space and locating things you are not looking for is rather difficult.

He got himself thinking of this entire situation they were in. Three centuries ago, the humans of Earth set out to explore via this ring-shaped device. They built bases all over the Alpha Quadrant without any of the major races even noticing. The map they found on the desert world showed a larger network of gates.

The cartouche they found with the address logically pertained to dialling Earth and probably at some point the device was on Earth but after it came here on this space station orbiting…orbiting, a curious word. Geordie moved to find the closest window. He needed to see where they were exactly to Earth. True he had seen the small blue ball suspended in the eternal cosmos but he needed to decide where.

Well, Geordie slapped himself. Of course the tricorder put them somewhere half the distance between the Moon and the Earth but where exactly was more important. How was it that all orbital stations would miss this one for over two and half centuries? Was this place cloaked? Was it shielded somehow? And for all those questions Geordie needed access to the primary systems.

But he had none and that was mightily puzzling. Could there be a protection he did not count on? There had to be a way. There was always a way. Even with the most unknown civilization's technology they had come across they have always managed powering it up so why was he meeting such resistance here.

Geordie made another tour of what they have uncovered so far. He needed to make sense of this space station first. The frustrating part is when you are on a new place, an alien it is difficult but this place humans built it. So there was a perfect order of things that has not changed that over the centuries.

* * *

The room they appeared into was obviously a control centre that housed most probably the primary and secondary systems. There was even a device like the one on the desert world for remote activation of the ring-shaped device that he decided to call the dialer. The control room had a few screens that were now inactive. He figured their purpose would be to display information about the status of the station or probably act as a sensor's display.

A few floors beneath the control room, they found some rooms that could easily be described as laboratories. They had controls as well that were also inactive. Curiously or not they were all with buttons something Geordie and the others were not so used to anymore. Of course there were screens for the display of information. His tricorder however had been totally ineffective in bringing them back to life. It was possible the technologies were simply incompatible so he had to figure it out without his technological gadgets.

The other places they uncovered were simply living quarters. The staggering part was the lack of rotating sections meant that this station had artificial gravity, which was not normal for a space station for that time period. All space stations of that time period had ones.

"Commander?"

"Yes, lieutenant?"

"I think you ought to see this."

Geordie soon found him at the bowels of the station and gaped in disbelief. Before the window, they stood there was a large room with protective blast doors. Inside the large room however, there were four crafts. They were not space shuttles but had rather long wing spans, a ladder each leading to the cockpit that by Geordie's estimates made for two pilots. There were also some long objects attached under the wings that Geordie figured was missiles.

"Spacecrafts?" Lieutenant Nahuro asked.

"Doubtful," Geordie replied studying their structure. "I'd say atmospheric combat crafts."

"If they are then what are they doing here?"

"That is an interesting question." Geordie said and looked around. He found a switch and pulled it. The room before them lit up. Geordie gaped again as the crafts were the same shape as the one they had found at the Alpha site's hangar. "Ok, they might be actually able of space flight."

"How do you know?"

"Well, when we first saw these crafts parked in the front bay I took the liberty of studying them and as it turns out they have four types of engines, one of which can take them to orbit without a problem. The others were manoeuvring thrusters used for control of pitch and direction."

"How fast are these things?"

"Well, they are not as fast as shuttle pods but they are fast. By my estimates, they go with seven eight times speed of sound."

"That's around two and a half kilometres a second." Nahuro exclaimed baffled. It was still way too fast for crafts of that time period. "If we could open the doors could we fly with them to Earth?"

"I think it is possible yes." Geordie nodded. "That is if we can find space suits otherwise the risk is too great."

"Then we'd better find them," Nahuro said with renewed hope and left the room.

* * *

The search for the space suits did not take much time. Nahuro soon located a wardrobe full of them. Geordie was pleasantly surprised of the design and effectiveness. The suits were slightly less good than those they used on Enterprise.

Getting to the hangar bay however proved more difficult than anticipated and other than using their phasers to cut through the bulkheads their options were rather limited. But Geordie did not want to risk cutting the bulkheads. He was uncertain of this space station after all it was three centuries old and compromising its structural integrity was not a good idea. Of course they had to make sure the hangar was also pressurized.

Crew member Jordan found the manual override as it turned out every door had one. The tricorders indicated the hangar being pressurized so they opened the door and ventured in. Approaching the crafts, Jordan climbed the ladder and looked in awe the craft. He had studied twenty-first century aircrafts though this one was not exactly in the book.

He found how to open the hatch and climbed in the craft. Inside it was no different from most crafts of that era but still they had much to learn before taking off. Controls were easy enough to learn but the rest of the buttons needed more study. One never knows when something could go wrong.

"Jordan,"

Jordan looked out and saw Geordie approach.

"Commander, this craft is fascinating." Jordan shared his eyes lit up.

"Yes, can you fly it?"

"I need to study all of its aspects, commander."

"Well, study quickly," Geordie said. "Can its radio be modified to our frequencies?"

"I don't think this is its purpose, Commander but I'll see what I can do."

"That's the spirit."

* * *

Geordie left Jordan and continued his exploration of the space station. He and Nahuro soon came into a circular room with a pedestal right in the middle of the room. Geordie stepped on it and a light came in the form of a hologram. The hologram was that of a civilian wearing an insignia of his shoulder. It had the same all over the station. Geordie pressed a button as his tricorder indicated it was a log.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Rodney McKay of the Atlantis Expedition."

"Commander?" Nahuro looked at him stunned. "Did he just say Atlantis?"

"Yes, I believe he did."

"State your question." The hologram of Doctor McKay said.

Geordie's forehead wrinkled in surprise. It was actually an interactive hologram. That was again something ahead of its time.

"Tell me of this station!"

"Created in 2022 Homeworld Station One by the IOA (aka International Oversight Agency) has a mandate provide planetary defence, alert for nearby object collusion, detect any ships entering the Solar system, research and development of advanced human and alien technology, as provided by the International Cooperation Act 66.

Its facilities contain the latest projects in defensive and offensive technology designed solely for planet Earth's protection. Its laboratories test every day alien artefacts, diverse xenofauna, and many..."

"Yes, yes," Geordie interrupted reminded to a point of Data who had the same habit of giving tons of information and never knowing when to shut up. "Tell me what powers the station?"

"Four Generation Two Naquada reactors power Homeworld Station One, each providing energy output ten times greater than Generation One Naquada reactor or enough energy to power New York for the next one hundred years."

Geordie was rather impressed. Each of these reactors could sustain this station for a hundred years if continuously used. The four of them could do that for four hundred years. That was impressive achievement.

"How are the primary systems protected?"

"The primary systems on the Homeworld Station One can only be activated by those carrying the ATA gene..."

"Gene? What gene?"

"The gene of Ancients,"

"Ancients? Who the hell are these guys?" Nahuro interrupted.

"The Ancients were a highly advanced technological civilization that came to our galaxy about several million years ago. They represent the first evolution of the planet Earth while we are the second evolution. The Roman Empire called them the road builders, the Greek called them..."

"And this gene fits in how?" Geordie asked.

"The technology of the Ancients can only be activated by those who carry their gene. It is a specific genetic marker that acts as a telepathic trigger."

"Oh, that explains a lot." Geordie exclaimed.

"It does?" Nahuro looked at him perplexed.

"Yes, as I come to think of it, it is the perfect defence. It will block anyone. Without this gene no one can use their technology. Everything built by them will be useless junk. Imagine a ship that carries such defence. It will prevent anyone from taking over. It is better than a lockout code."

Geordie's thoughts then trailed in what the hologram said: 'road builders'. Could he mean the ring-shaped device?

"Tell of this ring-shaped device in the control room, the one that allows for travel between planets?"

"It is a Stargate. It is essentially a superconductor that stores large amounts of energy used for creating artificial wormholes allowing for instantaneous travel between worlds."

"And the dialer?"

"Please restate!"

"The small device usually positioned near the gate?"

"It is the DHD."

"The what?"

"Dial Home Device."

"Ok, tell me about it?"

"The Dial Home Device allows for remote dialling of addresses and powers the gate. Without it manual dialling of the gate is possible only once as the gate usually doesn't have power for more."

"Alright, that explains a lot too." Geordie said. "Provide with me the power requirements of the gate?"

The hologram shifted from Doctor McKay to a display of the power requirements. As Geordie suspected, it requires a lot of power but it was not something Federation technology could not handle.

"Alright tell me now of the crafts parked in the hangar bay?"

The hologram shifted from Doctor McKay to US Air Force General. "The F302s first built-in the year 2006 as a response to the threat posed by the Goa'uld. They incorporate human and reversed engineered Goa'uld technology.

The F302 is a craft capable of atmospheric and space combat. It has four modified Sidewinder missiles, railgun batteries and missile decoys. In the year 2014, the F302s carried advanced plasma beams emitters.

The F302's speed limit was two thousand kilometres per hour. In 2014, this speed increased to ten thousand kph. The F302 has four types of engines – manoeuvring thrusters, jet propulsion, rocket booster and a hyperdrive generator..."

"Wait!" Geordie interrupted. "What is a hyperdrive generator? Warp?"

"Please restate!"

"Does it use antimatter mix?"

"Please restate!"

"Is it a warp drive?"

"Unfamiliar term, restate inquiry!"

"OK, what is a hyperdrive generator?"

"Hyperdrive generators allow for access to hyperspace."

"What is hyperspace?"

"Hyperspace is a subspace corridor in parallel with our own space-time."

"Provide specification, explanation in terms of mathematics of this hyperspace?"

The hologram shifted displaying the required information. Geordie's facial expression hit an exclamation mark as most of the displayed mathematics for him was gibberish. He understood almost nothing of it.

"What the hell is that?" Geordie exclaimed. "This is gibberish. That makes no sense."

"Maybe it does we just do not understand it!" Nahuro shared but he was just as perplexed of the displayed information as his commander.

"Alright," Geordie sighed but turned to the reappeared hologram of the civilian scientist.

"How fast is hyperspace?"

"Specify!"

"Ok, how long it would take for a ship equipped with hyperspace generator to reach a planet let's say two hundred light years away from Earth?"

"Ten hours!"

"WHAT?" Geordie exclaimed. "That's impossible!"

"What is the fastest speed this drive can make?" Nahuro asked.

"The fastest hyperspace drive is the intergalactic hyperdrive."

"How fast?"

"It can take a ship three weeks travel to cover the distance between Earth and Planet Lantea."

"What is the distance?"

"Two point seven million light years,"

Geordie and Nahuro stared at each baffled. Any Federation ship even if it could sustain its most speed will need about two million years to cover such a distance, and an Earth ship of the twenty-first century was able to do that in three weeks.

"That's impossible!" Nahuro finally exclaimed. "Alright, what is the fastest drive you have?"

"The fastest drive known till present time is the wormhole drive allowing instantaneous travel over great distances."

"What are the power requirements?"

The hologram once again displayed the amount of power and there the two officers' jaws fell to the floor for there is no power source in the Federation that could generate this amount of power. They looked again at each other and wonder what the hell popped again in their minds.

"What can generate that much power?"

"Three ZPMs power it." The hologram responded.

"Three what?"

"ZPM – a Zero Point Module,"

"What is that?"

"A Zero Point Module derives its power from vacuüm energy of a self-contained region of subspace time until it reaches entropy."

"Vacuum energy?"

"Zero point energy," The hologram elaborated.

"Zero Point energy?" Geordie exclaimed. "But that is almost unlimited power. That's incredible. How long can a device like that work if used moderately?"

"The ZPM can last three thousand years."

"And if used constantly?"

"Define parameters!"

"Hard use?"

"Constant bombardment?" Nahuro added.

"Twenty four hours!"

"Wow, provide specifications for the ZPM?"

"Unavailable!"

"Insufficient clearance?"

"Negative, specifications for ZPM nonexistent,"

"Right,"

* * *

Geordie sighed. This new bid of information shed some important light into their current misery. It explained a lot of the advancements the twenty-first century humans have made. Of course it also raised them in his eyes. They had to deal with technology so up their rally it was a miracle they had actually managed to understand it and use it, and even merge it.

"What protects this station from discovery from the Earth?"

"Homeworld Station One is in Ionic orbit around the Earth." The hologram replied.

"Ionic orbit, Commander?" Nahuro looked at Geordie.

"It is the midpoint between Earth and the Moon." The hologram answered instead.

"Is it cloaked?" Geordie asked hoping for the answer is no.

"Negative. The overlapping gravitation fields of the Earth and the Moon protect it thus effectively hiding it from preying sensor sweeps."

"That explains a lot too." Geordie said. Now he knew why the orbital stations have not picked it up before, then recalled the answer 'negative' to his previous question. "Do any crafts of the twenty-first century have cloaks?"

"Affirmative,"

"Who is the creator of your program?"

"Doctor Rodney McKay and US Air Force Major General Samantha Carter along Replicator Dr. Elizabeth Weir and Emin of the Asgard created the interactive holographic database."

"Replicator?" Nahuro exclaimed.

"Asgard?" Geordie exclaimed too.

"Ten thousand years ago the Ancients created the Human Form Replicators as means to fight the Wraith. The replicators are a race of nanites that form together blocks assimilating all forms of technology to further replicate.

The Asgard are a technologically advanced civilization that has protected many worlds including Earth for thousands of years. Due to unsolved degenerative genetic problem keeping them from further cloning for the past ten thousand years, the bulk of the race committed mass suicide on their home world Othala in the galaxy of Ida.

Subsequent contact with them in the Pegasus galaxy where the rest of their race was until the last battle with the Wraith. They had hence departed for the galaxy Ida and are still looking to solve their degenerative cloning problem. They have provided help creating this interactive program."

Geordie was looking at the hologram gaping and blinking hard as he heard many things that were definitely odd. He heard wraith, galaxy Ida, Pegasus. No, this hologram was malfunctioning. It was impossible. Twenty-first century humans had gone into other galaxies.

"How far is this Ida galaxy?" Nahuro decided to ask anyway.

"The Galaxy Ida is six weeks away from the Milky Way Galaxy by use of the intergalactic hyperdrive."

"That's what six-seven million light years away?"

"Affirmative, the galaxy Ida is six point two million light years away."

"What are these wraith?"

The hologram shifted and displayed a wraith. It was a hideous creäture. It looked like a mixture between a human and a bug.

"The wraith were the plague of the Pegasus Galaxy. They are life sucking creatures. Properly fed wraith can live indefinitely."

"What do you mean indefinitely?"

"A properly feeding wraith cannot die of natural causes such as aging."

Geordie and Nahuro looked at each other in terror.

"Life sucking? Elaborate?"

"The wraith extract the life essence from humans providing them longevity and regeneration. In rare cases when in full saturation, the wraith can give life back. The experience for the victims is extremely traumatizing."

"You don't say." Geordie was already having Goosebumps just listening and got worse when the hologram elaborated further on the process. "That's horrible!"

"The wraith conducted periodic culling of Pegasus Galaxy's population."

"Culling?" Nahuro exclaimed horrified. "Didn't they fight back?"

"Wraith's policy was never to allow any civilization to advance enough technologically to pose any kind of threat. They controlled the galaxy via a massive fleet of ships – hive ships, cruisers and darts."

"The Pegasus galaxy is the size of the Alpha Quadrant. How do you control so many so easily?"

"Every time culling precedes the wraiths activate the planet's Stargate preventing any escape."

"Wait a minute!" Geordie exclaimed. "The Pegasus galaxy has Stargates?"

"Affirmative,"

"How?"

"The Stargates, the Ancients built them in the Pegasus and the Milky Way ."

"The road builders – of course," Geordie had an epiphany. "How many Stargates exist?"

"Unknown!"

"Unknown?"

"The Stargate network within the premises of the Milky Way, the Pegasus and other galaxies has never been fully counted."

"Other galaxies? What other galaxies?"

"The Stargate network exists within the known and unknown galaxies such as Milky Way, Pegasus, Andromeda, Ida, Celestus, NG 404, Tenera, and others."

This was a treasure well of information. This interactive hologram had answered most of what puzzled Geordie. It provided invaluable insight into a mystery that has had them puzzled for this long. Geordie feared that without these explanations it would have taken them years to unravel the mystery.

"Why are the Q rattled by you?"

"Please restate inquiry."

"Commander, I don't think they have any concept of the Q." Nahuro observed.

"Yeah, it is very possible." Geordie agreed. "Is there a way to activate the communication controls without the usage of the primary systems?"

"Affirmative,"

"How?"

"Morse Code,"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You may use the Morse Code."

"Morse Code?" Nahuro said.

"It is an old form of short-range communication used in the past." Geordie replied. "But I doubt anyone would be listening for it." Geordie turned to the hologram. "Is there any other way of sending messages?"

"Without the proper level of clearance – no!"

"How were you created to offer this much information without the proper level of clearance?"

The hologram disappeared. Geordie and Nahuro looked at each other baffled.

"What the hell just happened?" Nahuro asked.

"I wish I knew."

* * *

The hologram reappeared. This time it was a man dressed all in black from head to toe. He smiled and looked straight into their eyes.

"Commander Laforge, you've been privy to this information because it saves time. And time is not something you have in abundance. Great changes are becoming this galaxy. Many enemies will resurface with one purpose in mind."

"And what's that?" Geordie asked rather stunned of the direct approach.

"The annihilation of the human race, once and for all,"

"The Q would never…"

The hologram man interrupted with rather sinister laughter. "The Q…" And he continued laughing. "You really do not know who they are? Ha, ha, ha, ha, good for you. But no, they will not DARE interfere for they know the price of that. Their free rein is over and they know it."

"What?"

"But that's not what I meant."

"Then I'm afraid I do not understand."

"The enemy and enslaver of the human race on Earth and many planets across the breath of the galaxy, the Goa'uld, are returning. The ORI, the plague that they were once, are returning as well, and the ones that you call the Borg will be coming too but this time not to take over the Earth but rather destroy it along every living human being, and of course, the Human Form Replicators. The human race has limited time to prepare. The battle for survival has already begun.

You can either join forces with the children of the Stargate or be slaughtered. This is the biggest test the human race has ever faced. Good luck, for you shall definitely need it."

The hologram disappeared. All lights on the station went off as well. A holographic map appeared and displayed a route towards the hangar bay along a timer. The timer showed seven minutes before total shutdown.

"Let's go!" Nahuro said and bolted.

Geordie followed him. This time they did not meet any resistance from the doors. They were sliding open at their approach and closing afterwards. The hangar door opened and allowed them in. The four climbed into two of the crafts and closed the hatch and just in time as the outer doors opened.

"Jordan, do you know how to run these crafts?" Geordie asked.

"Yes, I think so." Jordan replied. "I'm sending you the ignition sequence and then you will have to use the manual override stick to navigate the craft."

Geordie received the instructions. The craft's lights came to life. The aft engines ignited and pressing forwards the stick the craft bolted out of the hangar bay. Pinned to their seats at the acceleration Geordie and Nahuro were. Apparently this craft did not have inertia dampeners.

"Commander, are you alright?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, we are fine. This thing pulls a lot." Geordie replied.

"You should have activated the inertia compensators." Jordan said.

"It doesn't have ones."

"Actually, it does. I'm sending it to you."

Geordie received a command and entered in the board computer and the pull disappeared. Again, the humans were full of surprises. Still, the craft was difficult to manoeuvre but seeing on the side Jordan Geordie changed his mind. This craft actually was surprisingly manoeuvrable.

The acceleration throttle put into effect and the craft sped forwards with a speed of ten thousand kilometres per hour just like the hologram said. It was very impressive.

"Commander, I found the communication's array." Jordan informed.

"Really?"

"Yes, I'm sending you the instructions!"

Geordie received them. The frequencies were very different from what they used.

"Can you change this to alert of our presence?" Geordie asked Jordan.

"I think so!"

They were nearly ready to alert the orbital stations of their presence when a rift opened before them.

"What is that?" Nahuro exclaimed his eyes growing wider.

"I have no idea. It is a rift…"

Geordie did not finish his sentence as a ship emerged from it. It looked like a submarine with bays on each side resembling hangar bays. One of these bays opened up and before they could do anything a strange beam encompassed both crafts rendering them immobile. Severed at this point was communication.

* * *

Geordie noticed their speed had been slowly reducing until it reached zero. Then the beams pulled them in and he figured it was a tractor beam. The two crafts entered the hangars until they landed. A force field appeared at the outer limit of the bay and then the strange rift appeared again before the ship jumped into it. From their observation point it looked oddly like a corridor of light alternating between white and blue.

But this was mundane compared to the view around that had filled with figures in blue-green uniforms pointing weapons at them.

"Disembark the F302s!" A voice, from outside, said in steady authoritative voice.

Geordie considered whether to obey or not but the systems onboard his craft shut down and he figured they disengaged it remotely. There was nothing else to do but obey the voice. He pushed the hatch open, stood up and slowly got down the ladder on the side of the craft. His away team followed his example.

"Take them to the brig!" The voice commanded. "Relieve them of all their possessions."

As Geordie noticed the voice belonged to a woman thirty years old in a blue uniform with the rank of colonel and she was very pretty. Her long black hair fell freely on her shoulders and her blue eyes sparkled.

Four of the men moved towards them taking away their belongings but left Geordie's visor. Apparently they did not consider it more than a pair of glasses, which was good as Geordie thought.

They walked out the hangar and emerged into a corridor. As the visor sensor detected some alloy made the ship. They marched down the corridor until they stopped before a door that slid open – an elevator. The elevator doors closed and a strange light passed before Geordie's eyes.

The doors opened to another corridor almost identical to the one they had been into. They got inside a square room in whose middle there was a small barred square. There they stopped and another woman but in white attire stepped towards them with a strange little device in hand that had a vertical light.

She used the device upside down with one fluid motion and Geordie figured it is a scanning device. It produced a few beeps. The woman in white stepped towards him and stared at his visor. Geordie sighed. They must have figured it was not just decoration. She gently detached it.

She then scanned Geordie's eyes and frowned but a smile shortly replaced her concerned look. She took out a small box and opened it. Inside, there were four smaller things the size of coins. She placed two on each side of his temples. The placement itself produced a short but raging pain in his temples and his vision blurred for a moment. Using another cylindrical device with a lit point and the pain was gone. Geordie's vision returned and it was his turn to be impressed.

He was no longer seeing the spectrum of light as he used to with his visor. He was seeing perfectly normally. Somehow these devices neutralized his neural implants but gave him perfect, normal vision. Geordie was again surprised of the advancement these humans have made. Then they motioned them to enter the squared barred area.

* * *

They obeyed and shortly after the barred space closed a force field filled in the gaps. This earned another wave of surprise. Nahuro thought they would not be able to hold them for long but was due for a nasty surprise. The barred space had no locks just bars surrounded by a force field that when he touched it found it quite impenetrable and without Geordie's visor finding its weakness would prove close to impossible. And it also rendered his hand numb of the experience.

"How bad is it?" Jordan asked him.

"Bad, it is numb!"

"Fascinating, a stun force field," Jordan exclaimed.

"Yes, very fascinating," Nahuro noticed caustically. "At least we can hope they picked it up."

"Even if they were, Lieutenant, it wouldn't matter." Geordie said.

"How so?"

"You're forgetting their faster than light technology is very different from ours. Even if the orbital platforms picked them up Starfleet cannot follow us."

"Yes, how reassuring, " Nahuro observed. "They will find a way."

"Doubtful," Geordie was not one to despair just yet but they, four, were the only ones with all the answers and now they were captive. He wondered though how they knew to come and pick them up specifically. Perhaps these crafts had homing beacons or their stay on the station had not gone as unnoticed as they thought. If they could have only transmitted what they had learnt it would have been a different story.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the ship that picked them up, the Colonel converse with Colonel Sheppard.

"Yes, we picked them up before they could reach their base."

"Good work, Colonel Scott." Colonel Sheppard said.

"Thank you,"

"Did their orbital platforms pick you up?"

"It is more than likely but I doubt there is anything they could do about it, Teyla."

"Yes, very doubtful, good work, Chloë. I shall wait for you at the rendezvous. Atlantis out!"

Severed the link was. Colonel Chloë Scott relaxed in her chair. Soon, they will begin and revealed Earth's destiny will be. They had great interest to work together. Every enemy of Earth was returning.

* * *

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	5. Gathering

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Gathering**

Captain Jean-Luc Picard paced nervously in his quarters. It has been now two weeks his chief engineer was missing along his away team. The probe they had sent to the world his away team had been was unable to retrieve the coördinates used to return home. The only thing they had, was the seventh symbol and nothing else.

He feared the worst for his chief engineer. True, Commander Laforge had been in many life threatening situations and unknown whereabouts but this was different. He could be stuck on some planet thousands of light years away and they did not know where. Progress with the Alpha Site's base computers had not been made. Despite the best scientists he had at his disposal the database stayed encrypted.

It was true. The Qs had promised a challenge and a challenge they got. The frustrating part remained that they could solve mysteries left by old civilizations almost in a heartbeat but a mystery left over three centuries ago by their own people they were unable to solve. It was so true. His people worked day and night ever seen they came here. True, he did not expect they will solve it in a week but he hoped they would have something by now and they had nothing but the middle situation.

* * *

A beep coming from his desk interrupted his pacing. A screen appeared. Jean-Luc sighed and moved to it. "Authorization – Picard Alpha Three Four Tango!" Admiral Gardner replaced the screen's emptiness.

"Admiral Gardner, what a surprise," Jean-Luc exclaimed.

"Jean-Luc," Gardner greeted. "The Federation Council expects your report but so far it seems nothing is coming from your end after your first report."

"I'm aware of this, Admiral. It is just we have nothing to report, yet."

"I can see that." Gardner noted. "I'm sending you something that might help you. We had it for a while. The council decided not to show it or include it into the databases to avoid outright rebellion."

"WHAT?" Jean-Luc looked incredulously at the admiral. "Rebellion? Admiral, what is going on?"

"When you see what I've sent you, you will understand. Starfleet out!"

The admiral disappeared from the screen. Jean-Luc located the received file and played it. His eyes grew wide with surprise. This new bit of information was important. It shed some light into the Q's panic attack though he still wondered why.

* * *

He called in his command crew and Captain Sisko and his. They sat in anticipation. Jean-Luc activated the screen and played the received file.

'Who are you? You're human that much is clear.' The voice of Admiral Benson, head of Starfleet replied.

'I am Jeanie Keller, commander of the USS Elizabeth Weir.'

'Never heard of it!'

The said commander moved aside and another woman dressed again in leathered attire much similar in figure came next to her but with vivid green eyes.

'Who are you?' Admiral Benson asked.

'I am US Air Force Colonel Teyla Sheppard of Stargate Command and governor of Atlantis.'

'Atlantis?' the Admiral's voice had taken a note of surprise. 'United States of America Air Force?'

'This is correct!' Teyla Sheppard replied.

'The USA do not exist anymore, Colonel. Planet Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets and the ships you dared to fire upon are part of Starfleet Command, Earth's finest…'

'Audacity, you are the one to speak!' Teyla Sheppard interrupted. 'Your ships opened fire without any provocation whatsoever and we defended ourselves.'

'Nevertheless, your presence in this sector is unacceptable. This is a restricted area, leave immediately.'

Teyla Sheppard laughed. 'This place has been in the service of the SGC long before you've laid eyes on the stars outside of Earth's orbit, Admiral. This planet belongs to us and no one else as it would soon our home, Planet Earth."

'You're kidding right?' Admiral Benson promptly asked. 'Earth is part of something greater.'

'Earth had been part of something greater long before you and the rest of the planet reached for the stars. The human race is the fifth race of a greater alliance the likes of which you cannot even begin to fathom. But all that is soon going to change. The children of the Stargate are coming home and neither you nor your Federation can prevent that.

We can be all amicable in our meeting and rediscover together our roots and how to coexist or should it come to this we will take it by force. Earth is our home, Admiral Benson. And no one will stand in our path. We can either coexist or one of us is going straight to hell.'

* * *

The display went offline. There was dead silence in the conference room. Jean-Luc waited patiently for reaction but none came for a long time as it had not sunk in yet. The reality as they knew it had changed drastically.

"That explains the Q." Captain Sisko spoke first. He understood to a point the panic of the Q though he did not understand exactly why.

"Admiral Gardner," Jean-Luc began. "He said the Federation Council did not release this to the public yet and most of Starfleet in fear of an outright rebellion…"

"Rebellion?" Commander Riker exclaimed looking incredulously at his captain. "Why?"

"I wish I knew, Number One!" He replied. "But it seems they think these people are not complete mystery to the masses."

"But Captain," Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher exclaimed. "That would mean that they have planned this…"

"For a long time," Jean-Luc finished her sentence. "The Federation Council and Starfleet had been dodging me ever since we sent the first report and until now I did not know why. Now, I do. It would seem what we have discovered so far only scratches the surface. There is much more going on here."

"If what this Colonel Sheppard said is true then there is a great deal of possibility they are planning a coup!" Captain Sisko said.

"We should prepare for battle!" Commander Worf said.

"Hold your horses, Worf." Riker interjected and then looked at his captain. "Captain,"

"If all this is true then this is a delicate situation and we have to thread very carefully. Whoever they are they are obviously here and by this we know they have already engaged Starfleet vessels into battle."

"So we have somewhere to start with!" Captain Sisko finished Jean-Luc's thought.

"Yes," Jean-Luc nodded. "We will reconvene by twenty-two hundred hours. Find everything connected to these events and let's see what Starfleet and the Federation Council are keeping from us and mostly why. Dismissed!"

* * *

Geordie and his away team had been now in captivity for about a day. They had not seen anyone guarding them at all, and most of their efforts to find a way out of their cell had equaled to nothing other than increased numbness in their extremities. Of course, without Geordie's enhanced vision that was almost futile.

Geordie understood perfectly well why they waited for the scanning as upon discovery his visor was an actual tool they had it removed. They were probably worried he might find a way through their defenses hence the reason they were not up at the time. Or perhaps they had no such concern. Perhaps their defenses are foolproof anyway.

A door at the far end slid open and soldiers poured in. Two soldiers in blue-green uniforms, each holding a firearm in Geordie's opinion, surrounded each side of their square prison. The last person to enter was the woman they saw in the hangar.

"I'm Colonel Chloë Scott, Commander of the USS Young." She introduced herself and took out a small device pressing a button. The door to their cell opened. "We apologize for your…um…accommodations. Space is scarce aboard this vessel."

"Perfectly understandable," Geordie replied. "I'm Com…"

"Chief Engineer of the Sovereign Class USS Enterprise, registration number NCC1701 E, Commander Geordie Laforge, Second Security Lieutenants Nioto Nahuro and Adrian Mars, and Crew member Jessie Jordan, xenolinguist, yes, we know who you are, Commander."

Geordie's once more surprised. Colonel Scott held out her hand and a soldier brought in his visor.

"This is a marvelous piece of technology, Commander Laforge. I imagine it does well replacing your sight along other curious features, which is why I hope you understand why we had to remove it."

"Yes, I do." Geordie said. "But I'm impressed as well of these coins like devices around my temples allowing me normal vision. I figured they've somehow neutralized my neural implants."

"Yes, they do that." Colonel Scott confirmed but then looked a bit sad. "But not for long…Sadly our technology cannot reverse the damage to your eyes."

"I'm used to that. But still, thank you for trying, even if your motives were different,"

"You're very welcome." Colonel Scott said then turned to one of the soldiers. "Major Tall, have them escorted to the Medical Bay to see Doctor Wallace and then make them presentable for dinner."

"Yes, sir," Major Tall saluted. "This way, gentlemen,"

* * *

Geordie led his team out following Major Tall down the corridors until they reached the medical bay where they met again the woman in the white uniform, Doctor Wallace. The medical bay was pretty standard room with a few beds, a working console in both English and the other language they had not been able to recognize.

Doctor Wallace carried a pad when they entered. Geordie noticed it was fully tactile device with no buttons. She put it down and gestured them to have a seat. She passed again with the small device she used before to scan Geordie.

"Commander Laforge,"

"Doctor Wallace," Geordie replied politely.

"Your optical nerves have surprisingly regained some of their earlier functionality but not fully." She said apologetically. "Sadly, I would have to restore your previous vision. You may experience slight dizziness at first but it will pass."

"Thank you, for trying,"

"That's doubtful, Commander. They removed your visor only to make sure we do not escape." Lieutenant Mars said.

"On the contrary, Lieutenant Mars," Doctor Wallace countered her voice displaying hurt pride. "Whether your commander had his visor on him or not was irrelevant. Designed specifically to incapacitate the inmates should they bypass the primary security field our detention area's sensors are."

"Really and how?"

"Well, since you were unable to escape it is not now a point of relevance now is it?"

"Right,"

"Lieutenant," Geordie scolded him and threw him a look saying 'shut up'. "You knew of my condition then?"

"Yes, we were aware of it." Doctor Wallace said. "I'm sorry that we couldn't do much for you."

"Thank you again for trying,"

Doctor Wallace examined them one by one with the scanning device then moved to her pad and cross-referenced the results from yesterday. A small wrinkle appeared on her face. She moved to Lieutenant Mars.

"Roll up your sleeve, please!" She asked and then added. "All of you!"

"Alright," Geordie said and set an example.

Lieutenant Mars however did not obey that particular request. He was eyeing the good doctor with visible apprehension. There was something in her eyes he did not like.

"Lieutenant," Geordie called. "Roll up your sleeve!"

"So they can poison us? I don't think so!"

"I'm giving a direct order, Lieutenant."

"And respectfully, I'm disobeying it." Mars replied.

Doctor Wallace smiled.

"What so funny?" Mars asked.

"Is there a reason why you should feel uncomfortable, Lieutenant?" She asked back.

"Adrian?" Geordie looked at him strangely too.

"It is a personal thing, Commander." Adrian Mars replied but was certain no one bought it. Sadly the medical bay was all too well guarded and he knew it. He would not make it very far. And he was afraid of blood taking. He had every reason. These people may use a somewhat more primitive technology than the Federation but he recognized the language on the console as he did on the station. And in deference to the Federation, these people knew what to look for.

"Adrian!" Geordie raised his voice.

Adrian saw it in the doctor's eyes – a momentary flicker of fear. So she knew. He stood up briskly but did not succeed in reaching her. A bluish blast encompassed his body and he lost consciousness.

"What the hell?" Lieutenant Nahuro exclaimed.

"I came on time, I gather, Doctor?" A man entered the medical bay holding a strange weapon in Z like form.

"Right on time, Lieutenant." Doctor Wallace confirmed.

"So is he?"

"I have to run his blood but given his reaction, definitely."

"Um, Doctor, what's going on?" Geordie asked. "He is a member of my team."

"Yes and no, Commander," The lieutenant replied.

"I don't understand."

"Adrian Mars is not exactly who you think he is or more to point what you think." The lieutenant said.

"I'm afraid I still do not understand."

"He is a Human Form Replicators. He is not a machine but he is not human either. He may look like one but he isn't."

"The Replicators, Commander, can build bodies of flesh and blood, and your team member is one of those things. He has no free will whatsoever. He is probably been planned for a certain task. When he noticed my behavior he knew at once outed he reacted accordingly. That is the reason he did not want his blood screened."

"But Starfleet has examined him before!" Geordie said.

"I'm sure he has, Commander but your people do not know what to look for, and we do!"

"We will show you once Doctor Wallace finishes." The Lieutenant said. "I am Lieutenant Chuck Lorne by the way and I've been assigned to you!"

"To me?"

"I'll be your guide around here and make you sure you do not escape, of course."

"Of course,"

"Thank you, Chuck!"

"My pleasure, Doctor," Chuck replied. "Are they done?"

"Yes, they are…no, not yet." Doctor said and quickly corrected herself. "But you can take the other two. I have to deal with Commander Laforge first. I'll send him up when I'm done."

"Of course," Chuck said. "Mr. Jordan, Mr. Nahuro, this way, please,"

"I feel I'm at a disadvantage here." Geordie shared after the three left.

"In the beginning, the first human form replicators using organic bodies had millions of nanites in their bloodstream affecting repairs as needed but with time they perfected the technology and now the same function have genetically engineered cells, and if you do not know what to look for you won't find it hence the need to go very thoroughly through the medical scans.

My first scans showed a picture that was not normal for a male of his age. He has no bruises, no broken or fractured bones at all. He is in perfect health and while attributed to other factors from a human point of view it is simply impossible.

When I asked for the blood, he refused and saw it in his eyes. Then he reacted to my reaction which was a slight dose of fear and then he moved to attack. It is a self-preservation command imbedded in his DNA. We've seen it before. Let me ask you this, the time you've known him how often has he been to your medical bay or infirmary?"

Geordie could not really give an answer to that mostly because he is not in his care.

"I can't really say. He is not an engineer. Only our medical officer can answer that and our chief of security."

"When you were on Homeworld Station One…"

"How do you know where we were?" Geordie interrupted.

"You do not really think we picked you up by chance?"

"It was a bit odd yes."

"Anyway, when he was there, I suppose you can ask Mr. Jordan, whether the console around him were lit or not?"

Geordie frowned. He had noticed something like that. "I don't understand."

"Adrian Mars has most definitely recognized the language on the station. He was perhaps unable to get to get access to the systems because of the encryption but the basic consoles would activate in his presence. I'm sure he did not mention it because then he will have to explain.

You see Commander we found a way to detect them and imbedded this functionality within our most basic equipment. His kind doesn't know about that feature. This level of access allows for basic viewing. They think it is because of the ATA gene but it isn't."

"That's quite ingenious!" Geordie couldn't help but exclaim.

"We have our moments!" Doctor Wallace said. "Now, lie down and relax."

* * *

Twenty two hundred hours chimed on the ship's clock. The conference room of the USS Enterprise filled though only the captain was not present yet. Commander Riker sat opposite Councilor Troi giving her one of his quirky smiles and she replied back. Doctor Crusher sat next to Worf while Captain Sisko kept his distance. He was not entirely comfortable with the Enterprise crew despite Mr. Worf's service with him on Deep Space Nine.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard entered the room and all stood up to greet him. "Please be seated!" he said and sat at the head of the conference table. "I'm sorry I'm late but I have reviewed the latest details from the war with the Dominion."

"It doesn't look, does it?" Councilor Troi asked eyeing her captain and sensing his anxiety.

"No," Jean-Luc replied. "We have lost another sector and countless lives. The Romulans in their wisdom decided to fall back and regroup, and the Klingons followed their example so essentially Starfleet is the only one on the battle line."

"We expected this much from them." Commander Riker shared. He had never held the Romulans in high regard. "The Dominion will start pressing soon."

"Yes, but there was an interesting twist, the Maquis joined the front lines with everything they got including a few starships. Starfleet is a bit puzzled on that part."

"I imagine they would be." Riker said. "Where did they get their hands on even one?"

"That's anyone's guess, Number One. Regardless of the origin of their find, Starfleet welcomes any help now for we are hopelessly outnumbered."

"The Dominion cannot win this." Captain Sisko said.

"Well," Jean-Luc sighed. "Now to our business! Number One!"

"I went through the database and found nothing about the battle mention by Admiral Benson so I dug a bit and found a block level twelve."

"Level twelve?" Captain Sisko exclaimed his forehead wrinkling. "But that's admiral's level!"

"Yes, it is. Apparently they classified the skirmish at the highest level."

"Did we lose this badly they fear showing it?" Dr. Crusher said.

"Yes, we did!" Another voice replied but everyone recognized it at once. It was a somewhat colder voice they had gotten used hearing. It belonged to Admiral Nechev.

"Admiral Nechev!" Jean-Luc stood up immediately. "I was not aware of…"

"No, you were not." Admiral Nechev interrupted. "And you still aren't. As far as anyone is concerned I'm not here."

All looked at each other. "Of course," Jean-Luc said and helped her sit down.

"Admiral, what's going on?" Captain Sisko asked. He in deference to Picard and crew was not that afraid of the admiral.

Admiral Nechev looked at him and the others and sighed deeply. Reaffirming her strong composure she said. "We stand at the brink of losing the war with the Dominion and in the middle of that mess we are looking at a possible civil war."

"Civil War? You're kidding right?"

"I'm afraid not. The sudden arrival of this shadowy part of our past has cast a stone we cannot stop. At first the council and the Starfleet Command considered this a prank of the enemy but it isn't.

These two are not about to yield at the demands this Stargate Command made, which in turn means war whether it is political or physical at this point it doesn't matter."

"But Admiral, they are only few of them." Commander Riker reasoned.

"If that were true, Commander, our focus would have been on the front lines but it isn't. This morning half the docks declared strike. A term we have not used for over two centuries. The Mines' Consortium did the same and that was just the beginning. By this time, as we speak, half of Starfleet's staff drew a line. One spells Starfleet and the other one Stargate."

"WHAT?" Riker exclaimed.

"But that's impossible!" Captain Sisko joined him in awe.

"For the first time in Starfleet's history there is a division in our ranks. We do not know exactly how many support this Stargate Command. But what we see so far is not encouraging. All this began shortly after the Lunar Colony picked up two non identified crafts and later taken aboard an unknown type vessel that had just emerged from a spatial rift and back into it." Admiral Nechev elaborated then she stood up and called in the images the New Berlin's station recorded.

"What kind of vessel is that?" Dr. Crusher asked.

"By the markings, I'll say it is human!" Commander Data said.

"Yes, after analysis, we agree with your assessment, Commander Data." Admiral Nechev confirmed. "This vessel belongs to Stargate Command. The scans we got show they have no warp drive. The ship however has shields, reinforced hull, sublight engines and plasma beams."

"Plasma beams?" Captain Sisko asked a bit of mockery present in his voice but it vanished when his eyes locked with those of the admiral.

"Our reaction was similar until I laid my eyes on the record of the meet with their ships and it vanished in a second." Admiral Nechev said coldly. She entered the proper clearance code and the images showed the meet with Admiral Benson's fleet.

They saw torpedoes of bright yellow light passing through the Starfleet's shields like they were not even there destroying several ships and then those ridiculous plasma beams reduced the shields of an Ambassador Class ship to nothing. The enemy ships withstood most of the phaser fire.

"But…that's impossible!" Captain Sisko muttered watching petrified.

"We've calculated the yield of these beams and they are more than a match for our phaser banks. These torpedoes however are something we have never met before. They crossed our shields like they were not even there. These things however do not fly in a straight line as you can see. We believe they are telepathically controlled which makes them extremely hard to neutralize."

"So in terms of firepower they are our equal?" Councilor Troi deduced.

"Yes, they are." Admiral Nechev nodded.

"Colonel Sheppard said we fired first." Jean-Luc looked at the admiral.

"Yes, we did."

"But that goes against everything that is Starfleet."

"I assure you, Captain, my reaction was similar." Admiral Nechev said. "Admiral Benson attacked with no provocation. Sadly Starfleet isn't demoting him as we need him with the Dominion."

"So…what are we going to do from now on?" Councilor Troi asked.

"Starfleet has never been in such situation before."

"Sure we have the Mars riot in the twenty-second century."

"That was a different situation, Commander Riker. These people are not advertising Pro Earth tendencies. They have openly challenged the sole rule of the Federation Council and Starfleet and so far they are winning."

"Bridge to Captain Picard," A voice interrupted the deliberations.

"Go ahead!" Jean-Luc replied.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, captain, but we received an urgent message from DS9 for Captain Sisko!"

"Right,"

They all stood up and headed for the bridge. On the screen was Colonel Kira Nerys.

"Benjamin,"

"Colonel!"

"The Maquis ships assigned to me reported an anomaly on the other side of the sector."

Captain Sisko frowned. How was this important enough to make a call?

"And?"

"I think you should simply see it." Colonel Nerys disappeared and the screen shifted to a most stunning view.

"Is it my imagination or does this look familiar?" Commander Riker exclaimed.

He was not wrong. It looked remarkably like the ring-shaped device but only magnified a few thousand times.

"How big is this thing, Colonel?" Jean-Luc asked.

"We've estimated its size is two thousand kilometers in diameter. Our probes indicate…" Colonel Nerys paused here and then resumed a bit frantically. "Something is happening…"

No explanation needed. Energy ribbons jumped from one part of the ring-shaped device to another and cumulatively until it closed the circle. And then with great fussing a massive energy wave began from its ends and filled the middle until it erupted in a giant unstable vortex. The void middle became a shining waving puddle of blue-white energy.

"This is beautiful!" Councilor Troi noted.

Suddenly the stillness rippled and a strange ship emerged. It looked like a stretched ring with a shining blue sun core. It stood aside and more of these vessels came through one after the other. The ships were big, very big. They were probably bigger than the Enterprise.

"This is an entire armada." Commander Riker observed still watching mesmerized the strange ships.

He was not very wrong either. The sixteen strange ships moved into formation and headed at high impulse towards the Maquis ships that readied for the worst. And then suddenly sixteen unexplained rifts appeared and the ships disappeared in them.

"Colonel, what happened? Where are they?"

"I don't know. We've lost track of them!"

"What the hell just happened?"

"I think I can answer that."

* * *

Everyone looked around and saw Admiral Spencer standing at the turbolift.

"Admiral Spencer,"

"Admiral Nechev," Spencer said and moved aside gesturing them to follow him. They all did and he led them to the bay four where they saw two crafts like the one parked in the hangar of the Alpha Site.

"Admiral?" Admiral Nechev looked at him expectantly.

"I know you have some of those parked down there, Captain." Admiral Spencer turned to Jean-Luc who promptly nodded. "Well, Lieutenant Max, as you remember Admiral, you ordered him to power up one of the strange engines in this thing."

"Yes, I am."

"Well, as it turns out he was not wrong," Admiral Spencer said all beaming. "It is a faster than light engine but unlike any we have ever come across. We've managed only a small jump and then I needed a few hours just to catch up at most warp."

"What?"

"Oh, yes, this craft is capable of going so bloody fast my ship needs to catch up."

"Admiral, your ship is a galaxy class vessel." Admiral Nechev exclaimed.

"Yes, it is, Admiral." Admiral Spencer nodded. "With such an engine on my ship, I will run circles around the fastest ships in the fleet traveling at most warp and they will never know I was even around."

"Admiral what are you saying?"

"Well, these twenty-first century humans stumbled on a technology so up our rally that we can barely conceive of it. We've estimated that a ship with this technology can eat two hundred light years in ten hours, which is something no Starfleet ship can make. In terms of speed, Admiral Nechev, we are severely outmatched."

"Can you duplicate the technology?" Jean-Luc asked visibly impressed. It seems their predecessors had a few surprises up their sleeves.

"We could!"

"But?"

"But we will definitely need them."

"Why?" Commander Riker asked.

"Well, this is a brand new technology about which we know close to nothing. Yes, we turned on the engine but the rest is just estimates. They on the other hand are the experts."

"We can manage without them."

"Yes, I'm sure Commander in time we may able to figure it out but we don't have the specs about this thing and the trial and error part is not something I'm looking forward to. This engine propels with such speed and at such distance that a prolonged flight would mean we will need a few weeks just to catch up. And this is not very…well you get the picture, and at this moment we can't even afford it."

"So where did these vessels go then?" Councilor Troi asked.

"In whatever space they jump to. These ships use the same type of faster than light technology, which is why we lost contact. Our sensors are not calibrated to follow ships once they enter this space. By now they can be anywhere."

"How did you manage to power the engine?" Admiral Nechev asked.

"Lieutenant," Admiral Spencer called and Lieutenant Max appeared from behind one of the crafts holding his tricorder at hand and examining the craft.

"Well, standard power cells were simply incompatible." He began facing the admiral. "We had to basically design completely new form of power cells that are more of a match to twenty-first century technology. As it turned out, antimatter is completely incompatible with this type of engine."

"Incompatible?" Riker asked his eyes wide.

"Yes, Commander, hence we created something more compatible. We came up with a form of energy fusion that seems to work better though it is still in the experimental stage as it is very unstable. Actually, every time we decide to jump we carry the risk of blowing up the craft and the pilot along with it."

Admiral Nechev remained pensive. This type of technology if it was as advertised changed everything, absolutely everything. Being stuck in the Alpha Quadrant would no longer be an issue. That changed the perspective of well everything – trade, exploration, influence and even conflict. Hell it even expanded beyond that. They could go to other galaxies.

But they needed be cautious. She now understood better the leaders of this Stargate Command and their level of confidence. Three century ago, they came into contact with level of technology more advanced than anything even the Federation has met and understood it and use it. And now they had three centuries perfecting it and they have home to share it with their brothers and sisters. But instead they received in return threats.

The Federation was not a war driven society but the admiral had the distinct impression the same was not exactly valid for these humans coming to claim their birthright. She watched several times the first meet and concluded that in terms of war they were more apt than Starfleet. But now with this division in progress in the ranks of the Federation's most important member Earth, reconciliation might prove difficult. For she knew, they could use them to fight the Dominion. They finally got an advantage the Dominion may not counter.

They could take the war straight at the doorstep of Kardassia and they will never see it coming. This technology was undetectable. The admiral's thoughts raced fast in her mind. She needed peace with them. She needed them on their side to deal with the current problem and once dealt with then they can deal with each other.

"Captain Picard," She said finally gotten over her thinking process.

"Admiral,"

"I'm assigning the Enterprise to use whatever means necessary to make first contact with Stargate Command."

"Admiral?"

"And secure a peace treaty. I'm giving you full diplomatic authority to negotiate for Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets."

"Admiral?" Jean-Luc was to say the least startled by the admiral's orders.

"Admiral Spencer, you will come with me to make sure Starfleet doesn't do anything stupid."

"Admiral Nechev, with all due respect, I don't think Starfleet will go for that."

"Admiral Spencer, the war with the Dominion, we cannot win. It is no longer a matter of if but of when. However, with the help of Stargate Command, the outcome can change."

"That's provided they agree."

"They will agree because without the Federation the Dominion will claim Earth and they have come home. They need it as much as we do, so yes, they will agree. We cannot afford to fight on two fronts so we will make one of the fronts our advantage. If this technology is as you advertize it then we can strike a blow into the hearts of our enemies they will hardly forget."

Jean-Luc had to admit he had never seen such fire in Admiral Nechev's eyes. She was ready to do whatever it took to win. They had lost already too much but with these humans they stood a better chance. She was right this technology presented an advantage the enemy will never see coming. It was of course another matter entirely what promises they had to make to make sure it and then follow through without drowning Earth into a civil war.

"Captain Picard, I'm here by giving you carte blanche on this mission. Do whatever it takes to bring them onboard."

"Yes, Admiral," Jean-Luc sighed. He committed now to a path that may not have a point of return.

* * *

Somewhere in the void between galaxies, the massive metallic corpse of the Ancient city Atlantis cleaved through space along a massive fleet of ships. The strange vessels, DS9 and the Maquis saw coming, were there too. Their commander was now onboard Atlantis and meeting with the city's governor.

"Colonel Sheppard,"

"Commander Tolvin," Teyla greeted with open arms. They exchanged a brief hug. "I sent a word for you to help us out but I did not expect you'd come in person."

"I needed some fresh air!" Commander Tolvin replied. "The galaxy has changed much as I can see."

"Yes, there are new players on the board."

"I see."

"And Earth is in danger."

"I gathered."

"Come!"

Commander Tolvin was a man of few words usually. Colonel Sheppard took him to the briefing room and introduced him to Commander Laforge thus representing Starfleet and the Federation.

Geordie learnt surprised that the man before him came from a galaxy rather far away and a galaxy where the humans had actually begun. His stay here was fruitful even if they did not allow him to make contact with his people but he understood why, at least for now.

"Commander," Commander Tolvin said. "I understand your people are in a state of war with a race of shape shifters?"

"Yes, the Dominion." Geordie replied.

"Well, everything you can tell us about their ships and war capabilities will be of immense help."

Geordie turned surprised to Colonel Sheppard. "Does this mean you are going to help us with them?"

Teyla smiled at Geordie. "That's why I asked Commander Tolvin to come. Yes, Commander Laforge, the Young Alliance will help you with this Dominion. And then we can deal with our own personal problems…"

* * *

**To be continued…**

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	6. Preparations

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Preparations**

Yesterday, the command crew of the Enterprise not giving much explanation left for the giant ring-shaped device on the other side of the Bajoran sector followed by half of the command vessels including the USS Defiant.

This morning, Colonel Kira Nerys arrived at the briefing room with Lieutenant Ezri Dax. Both sat down and waited patiently. Chief O'Brien and Doctor Bashir were present already but were uncharacteristically quiet. There were also two others. One was Lieutenant Max from Star Base 24 that reported directly to Admiral Spencer the now commander of the said base and the other was a woman Major Moira Mayborne of the MACOs.

The doors slid open and Commander Worf entered along with Commander Riker, Councilor Deana Troi and Doctor Beverly Crusher of the Enterprise. They appeared looking serious and concerned. Colonel Nerys wondered what was going on. Captain Sisko and Picard came in last. They talked to each other in hushed tones and this surprised Nerys a lot. They did not see eye to eye much and now they seemed best of buddies. Something was fishy here.

"Please be seated!" Captain Sisko said as the group had stood up out of respect. "Captain Picard!"

"Thank you, Captain Sisko," Jean-Luc said and took lead place on the table. Captain Sisko sat on his right. Jean-Luc eyed everyone before he began with a grim tone. "I will be brief. The war with the Dominion has taken a turn for the worst. Our allies the Klingons and the Romulans officially decided to pull back their forces into their territories and await there the inevitable. This leaves Starfleet and our new allies the Maquis to fend off the incoming forces of the Dominion and the Kardassians."

"We can't survive without them." Doctor Bashir muttered but everyone heard him.

"Yes, Doctor, most likely," Captain Sisko said.

"Most likely?" Colonel Nerys exclaimed startled of the sudden defeatist wave she sensed streaming from her captain.

"Yes, it is no longer a matter of if we are going to lose this war but when." Captain Sisko told her.

"But we can't give up!"

"Your fiery words are much appreciated, Colonel Nerys, but we must face the facts. We cannot win this war." Captain Picard said. "Not alone anyway,"

It is then that Nerys noticed something she had definitely misinterpreted. It was not a sign of defeat it was hope. It was the kind of hope a survivor from a great tempest gets after being stranded in the middle of an ocean. It was the last stroke of hope.

"We can end this war by means that are as unknown to us as they are to our enemies."

"WHAT?" Nerys exclaimed confused. This statement of the captain made no sense. What means? What was he talking about?

Captain Sisko stood up and took out a medical tricorder that made everyone frown. What the hell was going on? He walked around everyone scanning them. He walked to the door and locked it, and then placed a small device around it. The device produced some fizzing sound.

"Jean-Luc, we're secure for now!"

"Good, thank you, Benjamin!"

Nerys frowned completely. What was going on? She had never heard them talk using their names like that before. How have they become so close of friends?

"Captain, what is going on?"

"Precautions, Nerys," Captain Sisko replied. "We do not want the Dominion or their agents to overhear the last part of this conversation. As Captain Picard said we are losing but all is not lost yet. We have one chance to overcome the odds."

"How?" Doctor Bashir asked intrigued.

"We do not know whether you are aware of it or not." Commander Riker cut in. "But there is a recent separation in Starfleet ranks."

"Separation? How do you mean this?"

"Most of the promised reinforcements did not arrive did they, Colonel?"

"No," Nerys shook head.

"And you never knew why? Well, now you do."

"We do what?"

"Number One," Jean-Luc interrupted. "There is a division in the ranks of Starfleet. One is still loyal to Starfleet while the other one is loyal to another."

"What other?"

"Jean-Luc, they don't know yet." Captain Sisko interjected.

"I guess Starfleet Command kept it deliberately from them. Oh, well," Jean-Luc sighed. "It is time they learnt. Number One, play it!"

* * *

While Nerys and the other wondered of the meaning, Commander Riker executed his captain's orders. The videos and information presented overwhelming and impossible information but seeing the eyes of their captains they knew this was not a hoax.

"Now," Jean-Luc began again after giving some time for the new information to sink in. "The other part of Starfleet declared loyalty towards Stargate Command. This places an unpredictable damper on the war efforts focusing all attention back home hence the reason you had not received any reinforcements and all of your calls have remained unanswered.

Unfortunately this division creates a problem and one which the Dominion is most likely to use to their advantage hence the reason of our presence here. We thought it best being here since we are pretty certain here is the place for us to go. Here is the place where we can send for the one chance we've got to win this war."

"The Prophets?"

"Very funny, Colonel," Major Mayborne observed.

"They've helped in the past."

"True, Colonel, but Major Mayborne referred to Stargate Command." Captain Sisko said.

"Them? And how do you plan calling them?"

"By damaging the ring-shaped device!" Jean-Luc answered.

"Why not simply find them and call them?"

"Doctor Bashir, we do not know where they are or how to contact them."

"But you said that half of Starfleet supports them!"

"Yes, we did, Doctor." Captain Sisko nodded. "But we've already tried that with no success. So now, we are going to force the issue."

"Mr. O'Brien,"

"Captain!"

"You had plenty of time however short to look at the ring-shaped device. What would be the best way to damage it without making it explode?" Jean-Luc asked.

"I believe a sustained burst of phaser fire would do the trick."

"A sustained burst?" Riker looked at him.

"A low yield," Miles O'Brien corrected himself. "A low yield sustained burst will excite the energy particles creating a massive flare. This should attract their attention."

"Just of out curiosity what will happen if it blows up?" Nerys asked.

"If my calculations are correct, Colonel, it will blanket an area of two light years in every direction along any solar system."

"What?" Nerys whispered stunned.

"This device uses a lot of power and while we believe it is now powered down the residual energy will create a shock wave big enough to blanket two light years in every direction." Miles O'Brien elaborated further.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the void between galaxies, the fleet of Stargate Command readied for departure. The ships of the Enlightened Ones led by Commander Tolvin took point and waited only for the arrival of their commander and the go signal.

Commander Tolvin was still at Atlantis ironing the last details of the attack plan with Colonel Sheppard and Commander Laforge who had been helpful enough to give specifications of the enemy ships and capabilities, as well as their home worlds.

Colonel Sheppard decided to attack directly the home world of these Kardassians without any delay and then turn to the other – the home world of the Dominion bypassing their lines of defenses. The shape shifters were ironically a bigger problem but she found a solution and one, they were not going to like – Arthur's mantle. It was a crude tactic but avoided unnecessary loss of lives on both sides. Their military units however the Jem Hadar will not share the same luck.

Geordie was most impressed with their battle tactics. He was not uncertain of this device they wanted to use over the shape shifters. The provided explanation of what it does and its properties seemed amazing but he was certain the Dominion would discover it and disarm it. But nothing he said changed their minds.

He had also the unfortunate privilege of seeing what Lieutenant Mars really was and displayed disgust. He wondered though how many more of his kinds have infiltrated Starfleet. He did indeed look perfectly human but without any illness whatsoever. But as he understood the process the building took less than a day. Geordie closed eyes thinking that this thing had been with Starfleet for years gathering god knows what information about them.

The other members of his team were genuine humans, thankfully. The scanning technology of the Atlanteans confirmed it and he relaxed. He was also pronounced full-blooded human so there was that.

"Commander," Lieutenant Nahuro called.

Geordie left the conference room where he spent most of the last few days providing information and specifications.

"Lieutenant," He looked at him expectantly. Though technically, they decided to join forces with the Atlanteans, their loyalty was to Starfleet and looked all the time for ways to communicate with them. Sadly, Lieutenant Lorne watched their every step and while he was nice to them they were still prisoners.

"I think I found a way to send a message." Lieutenant Nahuro said. "We can use one of the ground rods they use to ground lightning strikes. I can change it to emit a transgenic radiation outburst but sadly we should move closer to the Alpha Quadrant otherwise it would take several hundred years for the signal to reach any Federation outpost."

"It was a good plan." Geordie said shaking head. "We have to find another way to send a subspace transmission."

"All access is to that end restricted."

"Find another way."

"Commander," Nahuro said. "They are going to attack the Dominion anyway. Why betray their trust?"

"We owe it to Starfleet that's why."

"I'll keep looking then." Nahuro said. "Discretely."

Geordie nodded and returned to the briefing room. He thought that after being allowed to roam free into the city it would become easier in finding a way to send a message back to Starfleet but he had been mistaken. They watched them like a hawk. So far they made three attempts and each turn they met a wall. He also expected their movements would suffer restrictions but no. He attributed that to overconfidence on their part that he and his team could do nothing to meet their goals.

Geordie had to admit that this city was a treasure island for advanced technology and he could spend here an eternity studying its mysteries. The people here however had gotten used to its wonders but now and then they would discover something new and like children would stare in wonder trying to unlock its secrets. It was an intoxicating moment when that happened as it surprised Geordie a great deal. The children of the Stargate were not so different from them. They were first explorers.

"Commander Laforge,"

Geordie turned around and came face to face with Colonel Teyla Sheppard. She was always polite and politically astute with him but that was only for show. For the time, he had spent here he came to notice she was gentle and not so war driven.

"Colonel Sheppard," He replied.

Teyla smiled and shook slightly head. Always so formal, this Starfleet officer, she thought amusedly. "Care to join me?"

"Of course," Geordie replied expecting another session of debriefing. He felt his answer as he was still a prisoner aboard despite his given freedom to roam the city unaccompanied.

* * *

They left the briefing area and took the stairs reaching one of the transporters as Geordie learnt they called. They transported anyone to select areas of the city. It was actually much more effective than the turbolift and saved much time.

They arrived at the lower levels of the city as Geordie noticed having memorized about the schematics of the city. Teyla took the lead with tantalizing smile dancing on her face. Geordie followed now mostly intrigued as to where they might be going. There was nothing of importance down here.

Reaching a door, Teyla waved her hand and it slid open. It opened to the path leading to the landing sites on the East Pier. Geordie found it intoxicating walking on it while surrounded by the vacuüm of the cosmos knowing that the only reason they were still alive was because of the massive shield protecting the city's outer limits.

Teyla walked to the edge of the platform and gestured Geordie to sit down with her. He followed her example still wondering what they were doing here.

"When the burden of politics gets to me too much," Teyla began. "I come here."

Geordie looked at her incredulously. They had not come to discuss any business. She had come to relax.

"Do Starfleet officers ever relax, Commander?" Teyla asked and Geordie finally understood the reason they were here. It was not for her to relax but for him.

"When we are off duty, yes, of course,"

"And how if I may pry?"

"Well, we usually play poker."

"Poker?" Teyla snickered. "Anything else?"

"We have the holodecks!"

"Ah, yes, I've heard of that contraption." Teyla said. "But I guess it is the best you can do while stuck on a ship in the middle of nowhere."

"And what do you do?"

"Well, we don't have holodecks to enjoy the beauty of nature or various scenarios, Commander." Teyla replied. "But we do have the Stargate allowing us to go anywhere for real along all the dangers it could bring. Every time, one steps through the gate, one never knows what lies on the other side."

Geordie noticed the excitement flames in her eyes. Chasing the unknown seemed to best describe them. They relished the unknown, the unexplained, and the mystery of it all. Every day, they would go to a place they have never been to before and enjoy the sight while exploring it and collecting data. They were not as rigid as Starfleet in that area. A quality Geordie had come to appreciate in them, and envy them.

"On another note these days, we seem occupied preventing you sending messages home." She said bringing him back to reality. "And that is perfectly understandable. As I told the others despite your given freedom you still feel like prisoners here and this is honestly not very far from the truth."

"You understand." Geordie said. It was not meant as a question but rather acknowledgement.

"Yes, you could say I've been in your place." Teyla replied. "But we are not the enemy Commander."

"But you have treated us as such," Geordie countered.

"I'm sorry if you feel that way. We have actually been very generous."

"I know!" Geordie said. He knew of course. Anyone else would have restricted their movements. He and his team would have never had this much freedom even if they were this valuable. "And I appreciated. But you have not allowed us to call home."

"Yes, we haven't but it is for a different reason than you may think."

"Really and what would that be?"

"We do not wish to alert our enemies more than it is necessary."

"The Replicators!" Geordie exclaimed remembering again Lieutenant Mars.

"No," Teyla shook head. "They already know about us."

"Oh,"

"Yes, they will be making their move soon in the form of the Borg."

"We have trouble fighting even of those ships let alone an armada." Geordie shared.

"We know." Teyla acknowledged. "But this is going to change, Commander. We know how to fight them. Our weapons are more effective than yours in that regard."

"You too have energy based weapons. How are they more effective than ours?"

Teyla chuckled. "No, Commander, when it comes to the Borg, the only reliable weapon is a gun, a bullet filled one. Energy based weapons are useless against them. Of course, when it comes to Human Form Replicators, only one energy based weapon is useful. They still haven't been able to adapt to it, thankfully."

"What does it do?"

"Essentially, it disrupts the bonds between the individual cells. That was the usual way we took them down but over time we came up with something similar. This time we shove it through the dimensional veils thus they have no way of blocking it."

Geordie's forehead wrinkled of the effort to understand this statement. How would it be sending a pulse through the dimensional walls do what she suggested?

"The technical specs you can see later." Teyla added as though reading his mind.

Geordie's mind caught up with the part of projectile weapons being the most effective way to combat the Borg. "Firearms against the Borg, you're kidding right?"

"Not at all, Commander, of all the weapons, they could adapt to, the projectile weapons are the only ones they could never find defense. Look, their force fields are very effective towards high-speed weapons such as lasers, phasers or beams but are totally ineffective towards bullets.

Though of course like their predecessors, they are quick to change strategies. The replicators were a terrible menace consuming resources like crazy, assimilating anything in their path that was of advanced technology and ignoring everything they do not consider a threat unless you make yourself one. Sounds familiar?"

"Yes, it does." Geordie agreed as it described perfectly well the Borg.

"But their predecessors were machines, well metal bugs. Over time, they changed strategy and actually went back in time and created the race you are familiar with, the Borg, a synthesis between human and machine, because they knew that organics no matter how feeble were a formidable force with untapped potential."

"But safeguarded most…"

"Very good, yes,"

"But the Borg did not recognize us."

"Of course, not," Teyla said. "But if you had met their ancestors that would have been a very different meet. They would have attacked you without a second thought. No probing any anything, simple annihilation."

"Huh!" Geordie exclaimed perplexed to a point. His host's knowledge staggered him. So, it was humanity's old enemy that transformed and evolved into the worst enemy of the Federation. "And where do the Human Form Replicators come in?"

"Oh, them," Teyla sighed. "Well, they are more of the Pegasus side. The replicators came from a planet called Asuras in the Pegasus. The Ancients made them with the single goal of destroying the Wraith. Unfortunately it did not work as planned. The Ancients tried to wipe them out unsuccessfully despite the fact they had a build in code not to harm them.

Ever since then however they were hell-bent on destroying anything Ancient and they did until the day my ancestors came up with a way of killing them all. Sadly a group survived the onslaught. They retreated and lay low, rebuilding slowly. And one day, they were on the move. Their saboteurs caused great suffering among our people. It took us several years to figure out who was behind it.

Eventually, we leant it was them. Now these replicators were a pain in the butt. They evolved making detection close to impossible. Again eventually we figured it out but they had already moved outside of our scope. We spent many years looking for them and finally found a trace leading straight back to the Milky Way and your Federation.

Their goals, for now, are unknown. They could have easily taken over but they haven't. Sadly for us, Commander, this race is very bloody patient. They could lay low for years waiting us out. And actually, go figure how many they have placed in your ranks and what their tasks are."

Geordie had now part of the puzzle and the sudden return of the children of the Stargate back home. They came to protect Earth once more.

"But just as they have infiltrated our ranks so have you!" Geordie pointed out.

"That's one point of view."

"One? What's the other?"

"The families of those who stayed behind simply moved on but never forgot where it started, passing on the knowledge over to the next generation. It stayed a secret because we never got to the point of divulging it to the public. Not that this managed to prevent the onslaught later on."

"Onslaught?"

"The Third World War, Commander,"

"It threw humanity in disarray!"

"Yes, that it did. But part of the reason for it was the Stargate program, a tiny part but a part nevertheless. Some things, Commander, are not easily forgotten. Yes, most of your people are descendants of the people who originally worked for the SGC, Area 51, Eureka, the Air Force, Atlantis and others. We kept contact when we could."

Another part of the puzzle came into place but somehow he still felt left out. There was more to the story than the Human Form Replicators causing trouble. And again he wondered how the Q fit into all that.

"What of the Q?" He asked.

"Ah," Teyla exclaimed. "The beings you refer to as the Q, well, their time have not come yet, Commander."

"Why not? Who are they? Why are they afraid of you?"

"All I can tell you is that they have every reason to fear us."

"But you can't tell me why?"

"No, not yet,"

* * *

The Enterprise and the Defiant took positions. Miles O'Brien completed the necessary recalibration.

"We are ready to go ahead." He informed Captain Picard.

"Mr. Worf, open fire!"

Worf pressed the button and the Enterprise's phaser banks focused on a part of the ring-shaped device. At first nothing seemed to happen but then a massive shock wave erupted from the ring-shaped device in every direction. The shock wave created multiple disruptions and most of the ships' power was lost.

"Mr. Worf, report!"

"Main power is offline. Secondary systems are not engaging." Worf replied in a panicked voice.

"Mr. O'Brien,"

Chief O'Brien did not respond but his face said it all. He did not expect this kind of reaction. His fingers frantically moved on the few systems that were still online and compared the results.

"It was a massive electromagnetic pulse. It knocked out all of our systems. I'm sorry, Captain, I did not…"

"It's alright." Jean-Luc said in a calming voice. "Get power cells and get the backups up and running. How is the Defiant?"

"Last readings suggested total power failure!" Worf replied. "She's dead in space."

"Major Mayborne," Jean-Luc called.

"Inter ship communications are out too." Worf promptly informed.

"Damn it!" Jean-Luc muttered.

"Power is not rebuilding. Why?" Chief O'Brien muttered though he talked more to himself than anyone else. "The pulse already passed us." He then left the bridge and headed for the Geoffrey's tubes. He reached a power junction and noticed most of the power couplings fried and the rest fused.

* * *

Meanwhile, Major Mayborne had already reached bay Four with the F302s and climbed inside. Since their power was down they were not affected by the blast. She paused a moment. She never thought she would ever get inside one of these. In nowadays times those crafts would be considered obsolete.

But perhaps now the time has come for them to shine again. She entered a very old ignition code she knew of the time her grandfather shared it with her and to her surprise the craft powered up. It was surprising that the emergency force fields had held otherwise getting onboard might have proved difficult but she was glad they did. The engines powered up and the craft levitated above ground. She directed it out and punched it.

The acceleration pinned her hard. She laughed of pure joy. She did some simulations but that was nothing as the experience itself. She looked up for inertia dampeners and activated them. The pull diminished. She directed the craft at the floating dead in space USS Defiant. Reaching it she activated the forward lights and took a good look. The craft was intact other than the loss of power. Locating the docking facility was easy but making docking was harder.

Still she found a way to make it. It was a good thing she took the space suit designed specifically by the space engineers of the Stargate Gathering Club. It was lighter than any Starfleet space suits allowing freer movement. She opened the hatch and climbed inside the docking hatch. Reaching the end she needed to pressurize the compartment. Succeeding in that, she opened the hatch and climbed inside the ship.

Everything inside the Defiant was dark. There was literary no power. She looked at the closest power couplings' panel and noticed fried all chain systems were. Well, she thought that happens when you mess with things you don't understand. She took out a few of the fried crystals and replaced them with some of the one she was carrying. The light in this corridor came to life and she was able to get access to the control panel.

The life support on the bridge was out already two minutes. She hurried there to open at least the door. The command crew lay splattered on the floor. They were all unconscious. After the quick check she moved to the lower decks to restore the life support. It took her no more than a few minutes. Air started recycling and the atmosphere became more breathable. She returned to the bridge and started her efforts in reviving the crew.

"Colonel Nerys," She called as the Nerys was opening her eyes. "Sit up, no, slowly."

"What happened?" Nerys said with difficulty.

"You've been out of air for a short period."

"No, I mean…?"

"You're knocked out along all systems onboard. It seems Mr. O'Brien underestimated the defenses of that thing outside. But you will be alright. Now, just stay seated."

Major Mayborne moved to restore power on the command panels while Nerys observed in awe her skills. She would have never thought that a MACO had such knowledge of the inner systems of the Defiant. But Major Mayborne was more than she seemed. The lights on the bridge came to life and most consoles lit up.

"Enterprise, this is the Defiant. Do you copy?" Major Mayborne said suddenly realizing she had given her cover up but it was already too late.

"Major Mayborne?"

It was the voice of Captain Picard. It demonstrated surprise.

"Captain Picard, is everyone alright there?"

"Yes," Jean-Luc replied. "How did you get onboard the Defiant?"

"It is a story for another time, Captain. We restored auxiliary power on the Defiant but we will still need you to tow us back to DS9. The impulse engines are completely fried."

"Understood," Jean-Luc replied. "Activate tractor beam!"

A sudden lurch indicated that the Enterprise had locked on with a tractor beam on to the Defiant. The real moving however did not begin for several hours. Chief O'Brien and the acting chief engineer on Enterprise needed that time to restore most of the ship's power back to somewhat normal levels.

* * *

Hours later, the Defiant and the Enterprise docked on DS9 and Major Mayborne was in custody. They discovered she piloted the F302. But still that she knew how to activate the craft was reason enough for suspicion especially when she did not deny it.

"How do we set up contact with Stargate Command, Major?" Admiral Spencer demanded certainly for the nth time.

"If I knew I would have told you but the truth is I don't know." Major Mayborne replied a bit frustrated. "You can ask a billion times over Admiral it is not going to change the truth."

"The truth?" Admiral Spencer exclaimed. "You dare to speak about truth when you have betrayed the Federation while working for this Stargate Command…"

"Audacity, how dare you?" It was her turn to exclaim offensively. "My loyalty is to Earth. My grandfather served with the MACOs all his life and is the most decorated among them. My father chose Starfleet and served to the bitter end…"

"Enough, Admiral, we are not getting anywhere." Jean-Luc intervened.

"If it would make you feel better, Admiral, Stargate Command was there before Starfleet protecting the Earth from the deadliest races in the galaxy and no one ever knew. None of you would be here if Stargate Command had failed. You have no right to judge." Major Mayborne flared up.

"No one is judging anyone, Major." Jean-Luc said before the admiral could mount a response. Emotions were starting to run high and he needed to cool things down. "We were just surprised that you know a great deal more than us about these crafts…"

"F302!"

"I'm sorry what?"

"They are the F302. The F301 was a failure that nearly cost the lives of the pilots. The F302 was conceived to defend from an alien threat."

"The Goa'uld?"

Major Mayborne stared in surprise Captain Picard. She did not know how he knew that designation but answered nevertheless. "Yes,"

"Major, you understand what is going on back home. Half of Starfleet has joined this Stargate Command while we are in a middle of a war that we are losing."

"Granted the timing sucks, Captain."

"Yes, indeed, it does."

"Captain, those people have not betrayed Starfleet. As I said Stargate Command was there before you and it has always been part of the charter of the Federation…"

"What has been part of it?" Jean-Luc interrupted.

"A small paragraph, maybe it is time you actually paid attention to what you have sworn to uphold and not just take it for granted." Major Mayborne replied. "If you will allow me…"

"Of course," Jean-Luc interrupted the force field.

Major Mayborne left the cell and went to the panel calling on the Federation charter. She quickly found what she was looking for and moved aside. Jean-Luc's eyes went up in surprise.

"You never wondered why that is there, did you?"

Jean-Luc was speechless and so was the admiral. The people of the twenty-first century had managed to secure the future in a little paragraph. This demonstrated foresight and strategic thinking among other things.

"Stargate Command, Captain, always intended to return home some day." Major Mayborne said. "We were brought since very young to know our history. We knew that someday somehow our…will return home from their long exile and all of Earth's nightmares would be history.

Of course, it grew more than just a fairy tale than truth. It has been three centuries. But this never stopped anyone from hoping. Do you know how strange it is to learn that first contact happened almost twelve thousand years ago? Or to find out that the first explorers never set foot on a starship, a human starship that is? Well until the day they built one, half a century before Zefram Cochran?

Or that they were able to go anywhere in the galaxy? I mean anywhere in the galaxy. They defended the Earth from an enemy that outnumbered them a thousand to one? That they were technologically outmatched and had to rely on simple human ingenuity and a dose of luck? Making sure that the planet is not conquered by slavers or destroyed by massive asteroids, or black holes or Gods knows what else?

Well it is not that easy. Today, that's not much of a problem because our technology has advanced enough and we take it for granted. But try to imagine them three centuries ago – bullets and missiles against plasma and weapons of mass destruction! You can't can you?

So Admiral, before you start pointing fingers learn your history. Those who served with Stargate Command, the Air Force from every country, the military, the marines, Home World Command, well, these people and their families make the bulk of Starfleet today. Without them you have nothing."

Major Mayborne returned to her cell and sat on the bed. The fiery flame in her eyes was still very strong as were her cheeks heated.

"Oh, the crew of the Defiant, you are welcome!" She added.

Admiral Spencer and Jean-Luc remained quiet for a long time. Major Maybrone's fiery speech had a lot of merit. They had truly never looked at this from this angle. True, Stargate Command had been there before them and rewrote their history drastically. They had to admit that the people of that time had gone beyond the call of duty to do what they did every day. And given the level of technology this was a feat today the Federation could not repeat.

"You are free, Major!" Admiral Spencer said. "You may choose whether to stay on the Enterprise or return to Earth."

Major Mayborne shook head. "You really do not understand, Admiral."

"Then enlighten me!"

"My loyalty is to Earth. I have come to help and that's what I'll do. Now just because I know few things that you don't doesn't make me a traitor. The lost children of Earth are returning home and all you can think is losing the ground beneath your feet. Stargate Command has not come to take over. You and they just thread in different lanes. You know your stuff and they know theirs. And in the matters of the Stargate they simply know more than you.

It is as Colonel Sheppard says we can coexist perfectly. There is no need for any side to dominate."

"Stargate?" Jean-Luc looked up suddenly with an epiphany.

"Yes, Captain, the ring-shaped device is a Stargate."

"It is rather big."

"Well that one they refer as to a Super gate."

"And the ships that came through?"

"As far as I know they came from another galaxy!"

"Another galaxy?" Admiral Spencer's eyebrows flew upwards.

"Yes, Admiral, another galaxy," Major Mayborne replied with a smile. "That's why they built the super gate. The normal gate cannot get a fleet of ships here it is too small."

"How did they build it?"

"I imagine if my history is correct by collapsing the core of a small planet into a quasar."

Admiral Spencer and Jean-Luc looked at each other impressed. It would seem their knowledge had gone far even back then.

"A gate size is proportionate to distance and power required."

"Yes," Major Mayborne nodded.

"That galaxy is damn far away." Admiral Spencer said.

"It is."

"The power cells you used are not standard Starfleet issue." Jean-Luc said.

"No, but they work with Earth tech." Major Mayborne replied.

"But they are not Earth technology?"

"No, it is reverse engineered from Asgard technology."

"Asgard?"

"It is a long story, Captain."

"Right, another time,"

"Yes, another time,"

* * *

Geordie had never seen such a fleet before. It was a fleet composed of ships from three different galaxies. He until recently did not know how far these people had actually gone and it was further than anyone in the Federation. Even the time, Traveler that could drive a ship just by using his thoughts sent them to a very distant galaxy did not cover it.

The ships of the Enlightened Ones were in the form of stretched ancestral rings used in old times by kings and had a core of bluish energy like a small sun. Commander Tolvin commanded them. The ships of the Young Alliance were four different types of design – old submarine profile with hangar bays on each wing, long organic based ships, Lantean warships in the form of a fish, and lastly ships based on Asgard technology looking like hammers.

The Earth ships however were heavily armed with reinforced hull, shield generators that easily matched that of the Enterprise, forward and aft plasma beams emitters, and railgun batteries propelling projectiles at speed of six thousand kps, twenty naquada enhanced nuclear missiles. The Lantean warships had only what they called drones a form of torpedoes. The organic vessels used an accelerated plasma bolts or mines and the Asgard ships had advanced energy based beams that by Geordie's calculations had a yield greater than the phasers of the Enterprise.

And then of course, there was Atlantis, the city of legends. It was difficult to believe it was a spaceship, a massive technological wonder, built thousands of years ago. Despite being aboard for the past two weeks, it was still intoxicating sight. It was a remarkable feat of engineering with lasting the tides materials. He doubted any ship built by the Federation would last that much and be so perfectly preserved.

Being perfectly honest of everything he had seen Geordie feared a confrontation between the Young Alliance and the Federation. In terms of firepower, the Young Alliance was more than a match. And in terms of combat experience, they were also much more verse in it than any Starfleet officer. They were the MACOs. But all this gave him hope too as they were about to unleash all that power against the enemies of the Federation, the Dominion and the Kardassians.

It was to be an interesting meet.

* * *

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	7. The return of Anubis

**A/N: Thank you again for the reviews.**

**A/N2: I'd appreciate if anyone has a comprehensive chart of Federation Speed. What I've found is that at warp 9, a Federation ship covers the distance of 4 Ly in 24h. If this true than the USS Daedalus of SGC covers in 24h 20 Ly (as you remember or not the Icarus Base was 240 Ly away from Earth that the Daedalus covered in 12h). But still it will be good to have something solider. **

**A/N3: And of course the distances between the Federation worlds would be of much help as well. I know the basics but still.**

**A/N4: I'm actually trying to avoid giving specific numbers hence my request to you guys.**

**A/N5: One more thing, the next few chapters will be ready in a week or so, so be patient. Thanks!**

**And keep reading and REVIEWING!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past. A secret so dangerous, that it threatens to divide the Earth in two and reshape the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**The return of Anubis**

Everything seemed perfectly preserved as opposed to the last time he had been into this place, before his master was lost to the fatuous Oma Dessala instigated by that human Daniel Jackson. His master should have killed him when the chance had presented itself but no the Dark Lord had decided to play games. The young Anubis looked away and marched towards the balcony and peered over.

Once there were armies of Super Soldiers in the insignia formation. There were thousands of them and their power was terrifying. Brainless creatures, well, they were not brainless but without will. Their power had overrun the combined strength of the System Lords' armies made of the feeble Jaffa. His master was so close to victory when he gave in to his greatest weakness – arrogance.

But young Anubis did not have the same weakness. No, he had grown stronger and of powerful will. He has going to restore the glory and power of the Goa'uld in the galaxy and no one was going to stand in his path. It was time to rebuild. Of course, he did not imagine it would be easy. The galaxy was now more populated with weak races that have grown in numbers.

The feeble Jaffa had formed a somewhat quirky alliance and tried to live in peace with one another but over the centuries they had divided more and more until they lost contact with one another. That's the prize they had to pay from straying from their masters, their gods and embracing nothing. The humans of the Tauri did not have that problem. They believed in many things but most importantly they believed at least in something.

Young Anubis closed eyes. He actually pitied them. The poor Jaffa never believed in anything. The Goa'uld were gone then came the ORI with empty promises, and in the end even the Tauri forsake them. Left alone, they disabled the Stargate network and for what – one big nothing. Of course he was certain they would not embrace him. He is a Goa'uld or at least what is left of this race.

But no matter, Anubis had a plan of his own. He, the son of the Dark God Anubis the first, had created a new race of Goa'uld. He was the all Father now. He was the beginning of a new era of dominance in the galaxy. First, he had to remove the ones with most influence and their names and sad deeds of cowardice had bothered the Tauri and other feeble races for a great long time, well two centuries. They were races called Romulans and Klingons. Feeble creatures, they were in for a very unfortunate awakening called genocide.

Anubis' eyes flashed with dangerous murderous flames. The scorched grounds of these feeble worlds and their pathetic technology will mark the time of his return. It was time they met their God, the Dark Lord of the Underworld – Anubis.

* * *

Across the galaxy, the sun over Romulus rose bathing the gardens of the capital in gentle rays and freshness. A figure in dark green attire marched towards the Senate, a large circular building that stood majestically in the middle of the city, and stopped before the front gate guarded by four Remans. He presented his ident card and proceeded inside.

His name was Admiral Mirdak of the Romulan Fleet. His duties had required of him to patrol the border with the Federation and see their behavior. Now, it was to watch for the ships of the Dominion. The Romulan Empire had entered into the galaxy wide war with them after they assassinated one of their senators from his return trip to DS9, in Bajoran space.

Admiral Mirdak had been one of the few that believed the senator was not killed by the Dominion but by the Cardassians. The insidious plotting was more their style while the enemy gained nothing from attacking this soon. Not that it had mattered much either. The Dominion forces were formidable and they had taken advantage of the alliance's hesitation in certain areas.

He had come to tell of the latest on the front lines. The Federation had lost another twenty starships and their surprise ally the Maquis a few dozens of fighters. In their wisdom, the Romulans had retreated to their territory to regroup after the surprise retaliation attack of the Dominion near Betazed.

He opened the door to the Senate and after being announced stood before the Praetor. Bowing gently his head he acknowledged him and the rest of the senators.

"Admiral Mirdak," The deep voice of the Praetor greeted.

"Praetor, distinguished Senators," Admiral Mirdak replied.

"Your report,"

"The Federation has lost twenty starships in their last skirmish with the Dominion forces near the outpost base Kollan alongside twenty-six fighters of the Maquis. The Dominion has taken custody of that sector and started immediate construction of space yards and cloning facilities."

"Hum," The Praetor muttered then cleared his throat and said. "The Dominion is pressing their advantage."

"Yes, soon, they will have enough cloning facilities to overrun anyone."

"Stopped they have to be…"

"With all due respects, Praetor," Admiral Mirdak interrupted. "Our course of action can be only one. We have to reapply for a pact of non aggression with the Dominion…"

"Until they have more than enough to crush us later," Senator Doran interrupted shaking head. "No, we cannot allow the Dominion to have such strong presence so near our borders."

"Our forces cannot stop them, Senator." Admiral Mirdak countered. "The Federation will fall by our estimates in a year. The Klingons will follow them shortly after."

"We cannot be this defeatist, Admiral. The Romulan Empire has endured for a thousand years. We will not bow to this Dominion."

"That may be the case, Senator, but our premature involvement in this war has sealed that fate unless we pull out of this war while we still can. Consolidate our forces…"

"And by the time we do, the Dominion will have such force we won't be able to remove it."

"Enough," The Praetor interrupted frustrated. "We underestimated the Dominion, a mistake we are not going to repeat. Send in for Admiral Ko'llah."

A guard left the senate main room and then soon returned with the said admiral. For a Romulan, the Admiral was rather small but the fire in his eyes was rivaled only by few. He stood by admiral Mirdak and bowed to the senate.

"You sent for me, Praetor."

"Yes, Admiral," The Praetor nodded. "Admiral Mirdak is having second thoughts as do most of the military."

"Perfectly understandable," Admiral Ko'llah said. Mirdak threw him a dirty look. "But the Romulan Empire is not ready to yield, Admiral. Our time in retreat has not been in vain."

"Really?" Admiral Mirdak's eyebrows flew high.

"Our shipyards have been working overtime."

"This is not my opinion."

"You misunderstand, Admiral." Ko'llah said with a devious smile. "Our shipyards in Dominion space…"

"Where?" Admiral Mirdak exclaimed stunned.

Ko'llah smiled. "With the help of what is left of the Tal Shiar we have constructed bases within the enemy's territories. We built new starships specifically designed to combat the enemy vessels. We will launch them in a few days."

"Who knows about this?"

"No one outside of this room and the Tal Shiar."

"The last time we attempted something like that we lost many ships."

"Yes, because we allowed an alliance between the Tal Shiar and the Obsidian Order. The damn Cardassians cannot be trusted to do anything right. Last time, we underestimated the enemy, not this time."

"And where are these bases?"

"They are deep inside their territory next to their main cloning facilities. By the time they realize it we will sever their ability to clone. The Jem Hadar will be overrun."

Admiral Mirdak eyed the little admiral for a while. This tactic was very much in the style of the Tal Shiar.

"Then why am I hearing of it now?" Admiral Mirdak eyed him.

"We wanted to make sure it stays secret."

"And you are here, Admiral, to lead our forces in the Gamma Quadrant. You are one of the most experienced commanders." The Praetor added.

"I'm honored."

"Excellent, you leave tomorrow."

"Praetor, Senators, Admiral," Mirdak said bowing and left the senate room. As soon as he was out of eavesdropping range he took out a small communicator device resembling a ball. "Master,"

"What have you to report?" A deep blood freezing voice replied filling in the surface of the ball.

"It is as you expected. The Romulans will create diversion near this Dominion. It will divert their forces back."

"Make sure the traitor in their midst learn of it."

"As you command, Lord Anubis," The image of Anubis disappeared and Mirdak went to execute his master's command. The less Dominion forces in the galaxy the better for now, anyway. Their time will come too.

* * *

The next day, Admiral Mirdak departed for DS9 with his escort forces. They arrived there several days later. The Federation base was crawling with starships class galaxy and that surprised him a great deal. They were planning something big.

Romulan intelligence was working overtime to find out what but so far the Federation had been careful enough. His master had warned him not to underestimate the Tauri. They were full of surprises, mostly unpleasant ones.

His ship was not meant to stop at DS9 but he made a point to stop anyway. Admiral Ko'llah did not share his opinion but he was determined to find out what the Tauri were up to.

"Enough Admiral Ko'llah," Admiral Mirdak said. "The Federation is up to something and this is the perfect opportunity for them to share."

"Doubtful," Ko'llah insisted. "We have to make haste."

"Everything with its time, Admiral."

They docked and Captain Picard of the Enterprise greeted them.

"This is a rare occasion." Admiral Mirdak said replying in kind of Picard's greeting.

"If you'd follow me," Jean-Luc said. The arrival of the Romulans was most welcomed. They had started to feel the Romulans were afraid.

Reaching the briefing room, Admiral Mirdak noticed his counterpart in the Klingon Empire General Dak'tur. He nodded at him briefly and sat where Picard showed him.

"Please be seated," Captain Sisko said and everyone took their seats. The presence of the Klingons and Romulans was most welcome. "The Dominion has created another four bases in the Alpha Quadrant. Their focus is now building armies. And they think we can't stop them."

"That happens to be the truth." Admiral Ko'llah shared coldly.

"That's their opinion." Captain Sisko replied. "But we have found a weakness in their defenses…"

Captain Sisko revealed the Federation's plan of attack. It was audacious and actually stood some chance provided the Dominion hadn't learnt of it yet. The main Starfleet ships, ie the Defiant, the Enterprise, the Columbia, the Crazy Horse and the others were going for a straight assault of the enemy's base drawing the fire at them while the rest of the fleet with the help of the Klingons and the Romulans, should they agree, will come in from behind and decimate their facilities.

Admiral Mirdak had to admit the humans were devious enemies. He came to agree with his master on the matter. They were a tough nut to crack, even in their current state of being bloody explorers they were still dangerous.

* * *

After the debriefing, General Dak'tur left the room and somewhere in the more hidden corridors met with Admiral Mirdak.

"The Tauri are full of surprises." Dak'tur shared.

"Yes, Lord Anubis anticipated this much."

"What are his orders?"

"He wants us to keep up the diversion. I'm going to this Gamma Quadrant where the Tal Shiar has managed to build a fleet under their noses while you stay here and help them take down as many enemies as possible."

"And Kronos and Romulus?"

"Lord Anubis will take them down while they fight. Their home worlds would be most vulnerable. By the time they realize what is going on it will be too late."

"Long Live Anubis!" Dak'tur said.

"Long Live Anubis!" Mirdak replied and both their eyes flashed.

* * *

The fleet of the Federation was ready. The Klingon support ships had arrived as well while the Romulans had left for the Gamma Quadrant. Jean-Luc wondered what they were up to but he had Admiral Mirdak's assurances the Dominion will not forget that day soon.

"Captain, we are ready." Commander Riker announced.

"Signal the fleet to leave!" Jean-Luc ordered. "Lay in the course."

"Course laid in,"

Jean-Luc sat back in his chair. "Engage," The Enterprise's nacelles contracted and the ship jumped to warp followed by the alliance's fleet. This battle was to decide the continuous survival of the Federation.

Of course, their attempt to attract the forces of Stargate Command had remained unanswered. The situation back on Earth had normalized itself. The division still existed but for now the efforts were focused on defeating the Dominion. There was still no sign of Commander Laforge.

* * *

Geordie Laforge however was still around and still aboard the city of Atlantis. The last preparations for the Young Alliance's attack had been made. They were soon to leave and take down the heads of the enemy alliance.

Colonel Sheppard had informed him of the Federation's plan to attack the Dominion's new bases and told him he would be only a distraction to his people now in his constant attempts to contact them, and he came to agree, for now anyway.

The fleet of the Young Alliance separated in two groups – the Earth ships and Atlantis, and the Enlightened Ones and the Asgard vessels. The first group was to attack the Dominion home world and the second the Cardassian.

Geordie wondered with whom to stay. He wanted to stay with Colonel Sheppard mostly because they were going to use the wormhole drive. Lieutenant Nahuro however wanted to stay with the others.

"See you on the other side, Lieutenant," Geordie wished as they parted.

"Yeah, on the other side, Commander." Nahuro wished back. "Good luck!"

"Thank you, you too."

Commander Tolvin's fleet separated hyperspace windows opened and they jumped. Geordie watched them leave from the railing outside the main control room then went in. Colonel Sheppard was in what he understood to be the chair room on the East tower of the city.

"Major McKay, how long?" Her voice came over the com system.

"Colonel, it is a very precise calculation." Major McKay replied irritated. "If we are off by even a fraction we will end up…"

"Off course,"

"No," McKay replied. "We will end up dust."

"How reassuring Major," Teyla remarked sarcastically. "You had more than enough time to make your calculations."

Major McKay did not bother with an answer as Geordie noticed and simply severed the communication. He had offered to help but McKay was polite enough to tell him he didn't have the necessary qualification for the job that irritated Geordie a great deal. He had never been told before he couldn't do some math.

"Connor, for crying out loud,"

"We are ready." McKay replied. "We can jump now, highness."

Geordie had been witness many times during his stay on Atlantis at the bickering of the two commanders. As it seemed, the inhabitants of Atlantis were finding it very entertaining and refreshing.

* * *

The power seemed to dim a bit then the weirdest sensation crossed through Geordie's body and mind. He felt being disassembled in an instant and then suddenly reassembled. He looked though astonished outside. The void between galaxies was no more. The view had changed with the gaseous cloud of the Omarian Nebula and beneath the great city was the home world of the Founders.

Geordie had to admit there was no technology like this one. Except the one of the Iconians, he thought though theirs was mostly like the Stargates. Not even the transwarp corridors of the Borg could eat distances like this drive.

The away team of Major McKay was in place and then they beamed down to the surface of the Founders' home world. They returned shortly after and McKay had a big smile on his face when he plugged in his pad to the main computers of the city.

"McKay!" Teyla's voice was heard over the com.

"We are almost done!" He replied tapping incredibly fast on the virtual keyboard.

And just as Geordie was wondering how long it would take the Founders to react, the planet before his eyes lost coherence and disappeared.

"It is done!" McKay announced. "Though not many of them were down there."

"What?" Teyla asked.

"Don't worry, I know where the rest of them are. I'm inputting the coordinates now."

"Good,"

"Switching to hyperdrive," McKay announced. "We can go!"

"I see it. Hold on!" Teyla said and a hyperspace window appeared swallowing the city.

Geordie had to admit it was beautiful sight – lanes of sparkling white and emerald. They were going so fast. He understood now Teyla. Hyperspace was superior to warp, much superior.

* * *

Soon the city emerged from hyperspace over a class D planetoid. Geordie could actually describe it as a large asteroid. The surface was completely barren but surrounded by a massive Jem Hadar fleet.

"Enemy on sight," McKay announced. "Sorry, there was no other way."

"Well then we shall fight our way through." Teyla said.

"Major McKay, they are hailing us!" Lieutenant Chuck Lorne reported.

"On screen,"

"You have entered Dominion controlled space. Identify yourselves." A Vorta said.

"We are the Atlanteans."

"Atlanteans?" The Vorta repeated slowly. Geordie knew the poor bastard had no idea who they were. "Never heard of…"

"You are charged with war crimes against the Young Alliance…"

"Young Alliance?" The Vorta again repeated slowly enunciating. He looked so confused he did not know what to say.

The Vorta was spared the rest of the introductions when the Earth ships left the premises of the city's shields. The size of these ships told the Vorta everything he needed to know. Whoever these people were they had come for war. His sensors had undoubtedly detected the energy buildups.

"And you have been found guilty. Veo Terra!" McKay finished his sentence then severed the link. "This is Major Connor McKay to all ships – open fire." And thus the battle began.

* * *

Meanwhile across the galaxy, the Federation fleet had dropped out of warp and was just approaching the Dominion bases. Hundreds of Jem Hadar vessels appeared at the front gate preparing to retaliate.

"We have the enemy in sight!" Commander Worf informed.

Captain Sisko acknowledged with a nod. "Shields up, arm phasers, ready torpedoes,"

"Shields are up, phasers online," Worf repeated. "Torpedoes ready,"

"Contact Enterprise," Captain Sisko ordered. The screen activated and Jean-Luc appeared on it. "Captain, we are ready."

And so are we," Jean-Luc replied. "Engage primary targets."

The screen deactivated and the Defiant's weapons ignited with ferocity at the closest Dominion ships.

"They are attempting to flank us." Worf informed.

"Mr. Nog, evasive pattern Beta Six," Captain Sisko commanded. "Come about at six point six four two, attack pattern Omega Six."

The Defiant evaded the flanking enemy vessels turned over and attacked. The vessels in sight were destroyed but then the Defiant had to alter course to evade the next wave of enemy ships. They were not quick enough. Enemy fire grazed the shields.

"Shields are down twenty percent!" Lieutenant Dax informed.

"Come about three nine four mark six seven two,"

The intensity of the enemy's fire increased as more ships were pursuing the Defiant. The shields lost another twenty percent. Burnt cables protruded from the upper panels and a small fire ignited. The response crew attended to it immediately.

"We have a breach, deck four section twenty." Colonel Kira Nerys announced. "Emergency force fields holding,"

"The Starship Crazy Horse is moving to protect us." Lieutenant Dax informed.

"Time to take some of the heat off their backs. Concentrate the fire on these two ships." Captain Sisko commanded.

The battle was heated. More cables and other appliances blew up. The casualty list was increasing by the minute. The shield grid of the Defiant was beginning to buckle under the pressure and then all of sudden it ended.

"On screen," Captain Sisko commanded.

The screen activated and showed all enemy vessels jumping to warp.

"What the hell?" Chief O'Brien exclaimed nursing a crew member as he looked up.

"Where are they going?" Colonel Nerys asked.

"Captain, the Enterprise is hailing."

The screen shifted to the bridge of the Enterprise where the situation was not any better.

"Captain Picard," Captain Sisko said.

"We've intercepted a communication." Jean-Luc said. "The Cardassian home world is under attack by unknown class vessels. These Jem Hadar had been recalled for its defense."

"Leaving their bases unprotected?" Lieutenant Dax asked.

"Apparently, the Cardassians are having great trouble with the attacking force." Commander Riker replied.

"Well, we should not let this be in vain then. We should complete our mission and destroy their bases." Captain Sisko said.

"I agree." Jean-Luc said. "Mr. Data, set a course,"

"Yes, Captain,"

"And after we finish with this task we will be also heading for the Cardassian home world." Jean-Luc added. "Will you be able to follow us, Captain?"

"Absolutely," Captain Sisko replied though he was wondering the same as Jean-Luc. Who was attacking the Cardassians?

* * *

The enemy bases destruction did not take long. The Federation ships gathered together and after attending minimal repairs readied to jump to warp. It was then they received the even worse news.

"Captain Picard," Commander Data interrupted the good captain's talk with Captain Sisko and Admiral Nechev.

"Yes, Mr. Data?"

"Captain, we are receiving a general distress call from Romulus and Kronos!"

"WHAT?" The three exclaimed together stunned.

"The message indicates they are under attack!"

"The Dominion," Commander Worf exclaimed infuriated. "They will pay for that. That's why these Petah abandoned the fight…"

"I'm afraid not, Commander Worf." Commander Data interrupted. "The message indicates the attacking vessels are unknown…"

"Unknown?" Jean-Luc looked at Data perplexed.

"Yes, Captain, they are in the form of large Pyramids…"

"OH, MY GOD!" Major Mayborne exclaimed and Jean-Luc turned around. He saw terror in her eyes.

"Major, is there anything you would like to share with us?" Jean-Luc asked.

"Major?" Admiral Nechev insisted too.

Major Moira Mayborne looked at Jean-Luc. It was a day they feared. They have returned. Swallowing hard, she spoke. "It is them."

"THEM?" Admiral Nechev repeated not understanding.

"Could you be more specific, Major?" Commander Riker asked.

"They have returned." Major Mayborne whispered. "God help us now!"

The terror in Major Mayborne did not subdue for some time. Admiral Nechev and most of the others wondered what could spook her like this. Jean-Luc on the other hand was starting to form an idea.

"Is it the Replicators, Major?"

"No, Captain," Major Mayborne shook head and then added louder. "The Goa'ulds are back. They have come. They have returned."

Guinan who was at the time on the bridge looked terrified at her. She and her people remembered well this menace. They were worse than the Borg.

"The who?" Admiral Nechev asked.

"I think, Admiral, you and the other captains should come aboard." Jean-Luc said. "I know we don't have much time but this is important. Mr. Data, continue monitoring the situation."

"Yes, Captain,"

* * *

Captain Sisko and his command staff beamed aboard the Enterprise. He was aware of this threat called the Goa'uld. When last they learnt of them there was not much time to appraise Starfleet of them.

Admiral Nechev was being silent for a long time. This new information shed some disturbing light into the galaxy's past. The Federation fleet was already travelling at maximum warp towards the Klingon home world Kronos as Romulus had already fallen into Goa'uld's hands. The Klingons however were still resisting this new enemy.

Commander Data was monitoring all frequencies. He was now mostly listening for the fight on Cardassia Prime where the Cardassian fleet and the Jem Hadar were fighting off another force of unknown type vessels that seemed determined to eliminate all ships in the sector. They had already managed to decrease the Cardassian fleet to half its size. And the battle had begun only an hour ago.

Commander Data arrived in the briefing room. He activated the screen and Major Mayborne was once again to her feet. This time, her face was not filled with terror, but pride and general satisfaction.

"Major, do you recognize these ships?" Jean-Luc asked seeing her reactions.

"You recognize them too, Captain." Major Mayborne replied. "They came through the super gate."

"What?" Jean-Luc exclaimed.

"Major Mayborne's assessment is correct, Captain." Commander Data said. "These are the ships that came through." He pointed at the stretched rings. "These however are unknown."

"These have to be the Asgard class destroyers." Major Mayborne explained pointing at the hammer like vessels.

"And those?" Commander Data pointed at the last group of vessels.

"These are Wraith hive ships."

"I thought you said the wraith were defeated Major?" Jean-Luc asked.

"They were but apparently not their ships. They are a formidable force."

"They seem to be basically organic in nature." Commander Data announced.

"They are but like their masters they have great regeneration abilities. Destroying a hive ship, Commander, is a difficult task."

"Sensors have also picked smaller vessels…"

"Darts," Major Mayborne replied. "The wraith usually deployed sizeable amounts of darts. One hive ship carries at least two hundred darts and two thousand warriors."

"That's a lot of troops." Commander Worf observed.

"The wraith are gone, Commander but their equipment obviously had remained."

"And the other smaller ships?"

"F302s, undoubtedly, and puddle jumpers,"

"Puddle what?" Admiral Nechev asked.

"The puddle jumpers are small ships built by the Ancients. They fit right through the gate. They have also a sizeable arsenal of drones, the Ancients' torpedoes and they can cloak."

"Cloak?"

"Apparently, Admiral, they are full of surprise." Jean-Luc stated.

"Cloaking technology is not allowed by the treaty of…"

"Admiral, they have not signed that treaty and besides the Romulans now have bigger problems." Jean-Luc remarked.

"That they do!" Major Mayborne agreed.

"Captain, we are approaching Kronos." A bridge officer announced.

"Drop out of warp! Engage shields, arm phasers, ready torpedoes,"

* * *

All left the briefing room and came to the bridge. The sight was not pretty. Many Klingon vessels torn apart floated in a helpless mass of debris. The surface of Kronos resembled much the Earth's moon.

"Scan the planet, Mr. Data!" Jean-Luc ordered.

"Much of Kronos defenses have been taken out. There are troops on the street – thousands of them. There are fights outside the Klingon hall. I'm picking up Klingon disruptor fire there…"

"Captain, enemy ships, bearing three four six, two thousand kilometers,"

"On screen,"

The screen activated and the group of people on the bridge gaped. Enormous pyramidal ships were approaching at high impulse.

"What the hell is that?" Admiral Nechev exclaimed her jaw nailed to the floor.

"Goa'uld mothership," Major Mayborne explained though she had seen them only on pictures. They were terrifyingly impressive.

"Captain, we've been hailed." Commander Data announced.

"Put them through!"

Power of the bridge started to fluctuate and before anyone could react a figure in a dark cloak appeared before Data's console.

"People of the Tauri, I am ANUBIS, your God! Bow before me!"

Major Mayborne retreated several steps. It was even worse than she thought. It was not only the Goa'uld but the worst of them, the dark god Anubis. According to Dr. Jackson's notes, this creature was halfway ascended, impervious to any kind of weaponry.

Commander Worf had already taken his phaser in hand when she moved to stop him.

"You can't." She whispered. "He's impervious to all weapons!"

"I will be the judge of that!" Worf replied and with the Klingon attack cry fired his phaser. The beam went through Anubis making a hole on the wall behind. "He is a hologram!"

Dark sinister laughter filled the bridge as the cloaked figure removed its hood. Major Mayborne stared stunned. It still could be him. The face watching from the other side however did not show any signs of deterioration and then she visibly relaxed though to a point.

Anubis' eyes flashed and even Commander Data retreated from his console startled. Anubis turned in Worf's direction.

"Your people are fighting valiantly, Klingon." The deep voice of the Goa'uld said. "But in the end, they shall lose."

"We will fight to the last drop of blood." Worf barked.

"And so you shall." Anubis said with softer voice. "Unless you bow to me, and your people shall be spared. You will make excellent hosts for my children."

"This will never happen, Goa'uld."

Everyone looked startled at Major Mayborne. She had found her inner strength and spoke in fluent Goa'uld. Anubis' eyes moved in her direction rather surprised. He did not expect any of the old Tauri being around.

"We remember, Anubis!"

"So it seems, child!" Anubis replied in Goa'uld as well. "But the time of the Tauri is coming to an end as well."

"We shall see about that. You are not as powerful." Major Mayborne said hoping to provoke Anubis in revealing himself. She hoped he was not the one Oma Dessala set to fight otherwise they would most certainly lose.

"You are a smart one. I will give you that. Perhaps I shall make you my Queen."

Major Mayborne visibly relaxed. He was not the old Anubis. He was probably one of his earlier attempts of ascension. Of course that did not mean he would be easy.

"So Junior, get ready to get your ass kicked." Major Mayborne said in English this time.

"Brave words, Major!" Anubis replied. "But empty, my power bears no challenge. You are no match for me! And this time around, the Ancients aren't here to interfere."

"You're right but you are not him and we won't need them."

"I am Anubis."

"Yes, Junior, you may be but we will still kick your ass like we did with him."

Anubis let another sinister snicker. "Insolent child but spirited. You will be an excellent Queen. After I'm done with the Klingons. But you can spare them the embarrassing loss, Child."

"What? By telling them to surrender? You're dreaming. The Klingons prefer death to surrender."

"So' I've noticed but any race would prefer becoming even stronger and unchallenged like once before were the Jaffa. Longer life span, strength…"

"And servitude to your kind…"

"Well, it is not a perfect universe I grant you that but it is preferable to extinction. Speak with your leaders Klingon. You have one day!"

The hologram of Anubis disappeared and power aboard the Enterprise resumed. The attack on the surface ceased. The Goa'uld ships retreated.

* * *

Silence had occupied the bridge of the Enterprise. The devastation below on the surface of Kronos would probably take decades to fix. The enemy troops had left the palace alone but were not far and as the reports suggested they were in overwhelming numbers. Only the courage and sacrifice of the palace guards had kept the enemy forces at bay but even they knew they could not hold them for long.

Chancellor Gowron listened very carefully during the debriefing onboard the Enterprise. He did not like the story Major Mayborne told. His ridge forehead wrinkled several times as he started to remember something of the old Klingon myths. It was something he had to explore, definitely. For despite everything, the enemy did not attack in a cowardly fashion.

The enemy's weapons as they had seen firsthand were powerful. They had rendered their defenses in piles of rubble. Most of the Klingon fleet left to protect Kronos had been destroyed in the first minutes of the encounter the rest followed soon enough. Most of the ships patrolling the borders of the Empire had returned to join the fight and it is they who brought some balance until the arrival of the Federation fleet.

Meanwhile reports came in for the battle at the Cardassian home world. There the things did not look good too. The Young Alliance's fleet had smashed the Cardassian defenses. The Jem Hadar's fleet or at least what was left of it had been lastly seen retreating. The Cardassian fleet had been almost annihilated before the Cardassian government had surrender to the superior forces.

The surface of Cardassia was not a pretty sight either. It was not as bad as Kronos but many battles had been fought there too. The armies of the Young Alliance had swept with terrible power through it and it was only now that Admiral Nechev had seen the size of their forces.

She did not believe the Federation will have such trouble with them but now she was not so sure. The war with the Dominion had exhausted the strength of the Federation and now these forces were tipping the balance. The Q had been right all along. They should have focused on Stargate Command instead of the Dominion. Now the galaxy was in shambles and Earth, Earth was not safe.

* * *

Geordie was standing before the building of the Cardassian government. He could not believe his eyes. The once grotesque and yet somewhat beautiful capital was now in ruins. Smoke was fuming from everywhere. How did it come to this?

The battle with the Founders' defense fleet did not last much. Major McKay and his strike team had used the distraction the fleet was creating and beamed down to install yet another device. Before the Jem Hadar realized what was happening the entire planetoid disappeared and after that the Atlanteans ferocity jumped to new heights.

Torpedoes of pure yellow light emerged from the city and devastated most of the closest ships to Atlantis. They were crossing though their shields like they were nonexistent. The Earth ships attacking with the high-speed bullets switched to advanced energy beams and the game changed drastically.

The bluish beams cut through the Jem Hadar's vessels like knife through butter. Well, it was not that quick but it didn't take much time either. Geordie had underestimated the power of these weapons. Most of the Jem Hadar's ships fell and the rest tried to escape. Some actually succeeded.

The Earth ships then reentered the protective area under the city's shields and the city made another wormhole jump. They reappeared in high orbit of Cardassia Prime. Most of the Cardassian ships were already dust. The sudden arrival of the city and its ships put an end to the misery of the Cardassian fleet.

Troops materialized on the surface and a fiery battle ensued. Hours later, it was over as the Cardassian government capitulated. Many people were gathered at the square and executed. Geordie watched in horror but couldn't prevent it. Colonel Sheppard was merciless.

Gul Dukat and one of the female founders were captured while attempting to leave Cardassia Prime with a ship. The ship was cloaked but this did not help them. They were brought down to the surface.

"How dare you?" Gul Dukat exclaimed furiously. "I'm Gul Dukat of the Second Order…"

His speech was cut short when Major McKay shot him with a weapon resembling a sting producing a bluish blast.

"Does this one talk this much?" He observed. Soaked in blood was his left sleeve. It appeared he had been in hand to hand combat.

The female founder was preparing to leg it when a man with scars appeared holding a staff with a blue crystal and Geordie recognized him as Commander Tolvin.

"I would not attempt that if I were you, Founder." He spoke to her.

She did not listen of course but then the staff lit up with white light. Her body had just lost coherence and turned into its liquid form, and then suddenly froze. The forehead of Commander Tolvin wrinkled and she regained her humanoid form. A halo of white light encompassed her body.

"If you make another attempt, the light of Celestus will kill you!"

But the female Founder was already terrifyingly stunned at how this solid had managed to reverse her powers and was standing still and obeying. The sudden arrival of these people had torn to pieces their plan of dominion over the galaxy. Who were they? How did they vanquish the forces of the Dominion?

"Cardassia Prime is ours, High Priest Tolvin."

"Excellent,"

Geordie stood mesmerized while watching the power of the Enlightened Ones at work. He was beginning to understand the futility of resistance. The course of history had suffered an alteration in this galaxy, and charted a new course was... Changes were coming.

* * *

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	8. Olive Branch

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past. A secret so dangerous, that it threatens to divide the Earth in two and reshape the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Olive Branch**

There was silence, absolute, quiet quite silence. The space, the stars, the planets, all was quiet and silent. It was the calm but not before the storm after it and a storm it was. It roamed across the breath of half the galaxy with terrible power. But it was over now or at the very least for now.

Romulus, once respected capital of the Romulan Empire, and its moon Remus, now stood in shambles, in ruins suffered from merciless orbital bombardment. Fumes, smoke, dust rose from its scorched grounds. Cries of pain and suffering filled the once beautiful and neat streets.

Troops in silver black armors walked the streets with their terrible staff weapons. On their chest, the symbol of death, the insignia of a crow – the sign of the dark underworld God Anubis. They had occupied the surface. They were everywhere. The planet was theirs, well almost. There were still small pockets of people resisting the invading force.

The dark lord Anubis however was in the senate room sitting on one chair raised as a throne and before him on his knees the Romulan Praetor. His face contorted with pain as orange-yellow light was coming out of his mouth, eyes and ears. Behind him, the First Prime of Anubis was holding to his back a sort of trident short stick.

Anubis raised a hand and the pain stopped. The Romulan Praetor stooped. His hands dangled, no flopped helplessly beside his torso. The Romulan had never experienced such pain in his entire life and before becoming Praetor he had been in captivity and was under torture but none of that could compare to the now situation.

The figure before him seemed human but he was nothing like the humans of Earth. His eyes were the cold deep blue one can find at the bottom of an ocean. But they also were bright the worst combination. His body was perfectly balanced. The Praetor had watched helplessly as this man had killed his guards with such terrible ease not even a Klingon could.

"Again!" The dark cold voice of Anubis commanded.

The first prime put the stick at the praetor's back and the orange light returned. The pain was getting too much and soon enough the Praetor lost consciousness.

"Feeble creature," Anubis exclaimed disgusted. Even the Tauri lasted more than this green blooded goblin. "Taking him back to his cell and bring the other ones."

* * *

The First Prime of Anubis, Aken lifted the body of the fallen Romulan and dragged it away from the senate room. Reaching a small room he pressed a button on his wrist and rings appeared from the ground swooping them away in white light. It was the ring platform that took them aboard the mothership of Anubis parked in high orbit of Romulus.

Aken deposited the Romulan Praetor in a cell then moved to other cells that contained the rest of the Romulan Senators. He opened the cell door and one of them actually was bold and stupid enough to attack him. He blocked the attack and his muscled hand squeezed the struggling Romulan with terrible force. The fight was over before it began.

"Move!" He commanded the rest and they obeyed all heroism erased from their faces. They have seen many enemies but none compared to the troops of Anubis. Their strength was unnatural.

Surrounded by four guards they marched towards the ring platform. Aken activated the sequence and they transported down to the surface, walked into the senate room and knelt forcibly before Anubis.

"Feeble worms beneath my feet," Anubis said with dark cold voice. "You vermin represent what is left of your puny little empire. From this day forth, you will serve me or you shall suffer eternity in the belly of the underworld…"

"We will serve…" One of the Romulan senators said and immediately regretted it. Anubis had raised his hand and from it a terrible ray covered his head. He started to shake uncontrollably, wriggling in terrible pain. Blood poured down his nose till his body convulsed once more before it stilled.

"I am your God. You will speak when I ordain it."

The other senators nodded silently. A dark smile appeared on Anubis' face. These feeble creatures were easier to conquer than the Tauri. Their fear of the inevitable was easier to manipulate. His task on this dismal planet was almost complete but he did not want them to forget the pain of disobeying their god.

There was silence, absolute quiet silence. It was the calm, the calm after the storm though perhaps it was the calm between storms. Anubis' next appointment was the Klingon home world Kronos. It reminded him of the Goa'uld Kronos. He had been a powerful system lord but arrogant in his presumption and thus killed by an android version of Teal'c. It was pathetic really but there it was.

The last years of the Goa'uld's dominion were by far the most interesting. It was the years that tested the Goa'uld's resolve and they failed. The Tauri, recently learning they were not alone in this universe, created a shockwave that changed the face of the galaxy, a shockwave that tore the Goa'uld domain apart, and a shockwave that destroyed thousands of years of absolute control.

But times were changing. Now, it was the time for the Second Era of the Goa'uld. But this time, things will be very different. The dark lord Anubis had terrible plans and one by one the powers of the galaxy will bow to him. He was going to leave the Tauri for last. They were after all the most difficult.

* * *

USS Enterprise was in orbit of Kronos, the Klingon home world and was providing medical help to their allies. The Klingon fleet was mostly obliterated. Large debris fields marked their graves. The wounded were in the millions as were the casualties.

The enemy ships were still there watching like vultures ready to strike again. It was a beautiful and terrible sight at the same time. Perfectly positioned, the Pyramid vessels floated on the far side of the Klingon planet.

The insignia of a crow embedded on every vessel though as Jean-Luc remembered from his archeology lessons, the dark lord of the underworld Anubis was a dog or a jackal. But as it seemed even the gods evolve in their insignia. Nah, Anubis was not a god but he was a powerful creature.

He would have never thought that these Goa'ulds were this powerful but no one saw them coming. They had swept through the Klingon defenses with terrible power. The Klingons were a proud race. They were strong warriors but even that was not enough to stall the enemy's advance. How did it all come to this?

The Federation had faced many threats – the Borg, the Sona, the Kreels, the Sphere Builders but none of them were of such terrible power and numbers. How did they miss a force with such numbers? Perhaps, Major Mayborne was right after all it was a big galaxy they lived in. Speaking of her, Jean-Luc was reminded that he still did not know his chief engineer's whereabouts. Geordie was now missing for over two weeks. In the ensued chaos, they had forgotten about him.

Reports were coming from Deep Space Nine. The Dominion's forces had suffered great losses in the Gamma Quadrant by the Young Alliance and Stargate Command. Jean-Luc had hoped to enlist their help but they had done it anyway. The odd parts however consisted of the missing home world of the Founders. The reports said it was not there.

"How can an entire planet vanish without a trace?" Commander Riker demanded.

"That's what the report says, Commander." said Commander Data.

"Strange,"

"I agree, Captain." Data said. "The reports show that the Dominion forces are now scattered throughout the quadrant. They have suffered great loss at the battle above a planetoid forty light years from the Founders' home world."

"What of Cardassia Prime?"

"Cardassia Prime had capitulated to the Young Alliance. The Cardassian fleet has being eliminated as well. The few ships that have managed to escape have regrouped at the Orias System."

"How did it all come to this?"

It was not a question for anyone to particularly answer. It was just a question addressed to the universe.

It was not so long ago when the Q Continuum cried for help and diverted their attention away from the war with the Dominion and into Earth's dark past where they discovered a secret preserved for over three centuries, a secret so dangerous that it now overwhelmed them. The galaxy was in shambles. In a single swift move, it has crumbled but it was far from over. The battle for the galaxy was just beginning.

* * *

The alarms on the ship came to life and they hurried to the bridge. The enormous ship of Anubis had just arrived and was moving towards them. It stopped a thousand kilometers from them.

"Captain, they're hailing."

"On screen," Jean-Luc commanded straightening his uniform.

The screen activated and Jean-Luc saw Anubis sitting in his throne chair but beneath stood no other than the Romulan Praetor. The latter did not look well. Actually it looked like he was tortured. And just as they were wondering it, orange-yellow light protruded from his mouth, eyes and ears and the Romulan screamed in terrible agony.

It lasted no more than a minute and then a light came from Anubis' hand and ascended upon the Praetor's head. The Praetor's body started to convulse and shake terribly. Anubis' eyes filled with dark coldness. He continued the torture till the time he saw the disgust in the eyes of everyone and then stopped. The Praetor fell before his feet. Anubis rose from the chair.

"I AM ANUBIS, YOUR GOD!"

It was an odd thing. His voice seemed not to come through the com link but it resonated everywhere.

"YOU WILL BOW TO ME!"

His eyes flickered once with light completing the level of creepiness he had instigated in everyone's souls.

"Klingon High Chancellor Gowron," Anubis said. "Your people fought bravely but foolishly nevertheless. No one can oppose the armies of the underworld." Anubis let his words sink in. He was still controlling the mesmerizing effect the torture of the Romulan Praetor had produced. "However, I do recognize strength and bravery when I see them. Your people are proud and shall be treated as such." Anubis paused again.

"The Klingons shall stand proud and strong. They will take their place in the galaxy as a force to be reckoned with, a force to be respected as the new guards of their god. As first act of my benevolence, I give you the right to expand your territory.

I know however you will not accept a gift which is why you will fight for it. You will fight what is left of the Romulan Empire and take it as your own, in the service of your God – Anubis."

Jean-Luc had to admit this Anubis fellow was good. His speech was powerful. He knew how to talk to the Klingons.

"And then you shall prosper. Your lifespan will increase. You will never know disease or weakness. You will be stronger, faster and smarter. Your enemies will tremble before you."

The pamphlet propaganda was powerful. Jean-Luc understood now better Guinan's fears. The Goa'ulds were just as dangerous as the Borg but in a different way. Conquerors, she said, it was an understatement. And then his heart stopped when he heard the words.

"We accept the word of our God." It was the voice of Gowron, Klingon High Chancellor.

Jean-Luc snapped out of the stupor these words had produced. The Klingons could not possibly fall for this.

"Contact Gowron," Jean-Luc commanded with steady firm voice. The screen changed. "Chancellor, you can't surrender to this thing…"

"How dare you?" Gowron interrupted. "How dare you speak ill of our God?"

"Chancellor," There was pleading in his voice.

"The Klingon Empire recognizes the voice of their God that had guided them in the past. We renew our service to you, Milord Anubis!"

"I'm glad you finally remembered." Anubis said protectively. "I have returned for my children."

"Forgive our blindness. It has been thousands of years. We knew you as Kahless back then."

"Indeed, but times change, Chancellor." Anubis said with smile dancing on his lips.

"I hope you forgive our resistance. We thought you were…"

"All is forgiven, child. I'm glad that you fought however foolish it was. It has shown me that my children have grown strong and brave."

"Thank you, Milord."

Anubis turned his eyes away from Gowron and back to the Enterprise. "Major!"

Major Mayborne stepped forward. It was for the captain to respond but she knew Anubis had something else in mind.

"Anubis,"

"You have spirit, Major, I like that in you very much." Anubis said. "Let the Tauri know, the Klingon Empire has rejoined the Goa'uld domain as it was thousands of years ago."

"I will, you slimy snake."

Anubis chuckled. He was finding her amusing. "The time of the Tauri is growing shorter too and soon I will be coming for them. And then I will make you my queen."

"Keep dreaming," Major Mayborne said. "We got rid of you once. We will again."

"I can't wait!" Anubis said. "Chancellor Gowron, escort the humans out of my domain!"

"Of course, Milord," Gowron replied. He them turned to Jean-Luc. "Captain Picard, you are hereby ordained to leave Klingon space and never return. Failure to do so will result in your immediate destruction."

"Chancellor, the Federation…"

"Has no say in Klingon matters," Gowron interrupted. "Leave while you still can, Captain."

Jean-Luc closed eyes and sighed deeply. Federation law was preventing him from doing anything else. He did not agree with the chancellor but he had to obey the Prime Directive. He opened his eyes and sighing again said. "Helm set course …"

"Captain," Commander Riker exclaimed.

"You heard me!" Jean-Luc's voice was adamant.

"Yes, Captain," Commander Data replied. "Course set,"

"Return us to Federation space, Mr. Data, warp nine! Engage."

Enterprise turned away from the Klingon home world and its nacelles contracted sending the ship into warp. The rest of the Federation fleet followed them as well. This encounter did not end well. The Klingons completely uncharacteristically had surrendered to this Goa'uld. How did it come to that?

No, this did not end well at all. The Klingons were soon going to finish off what was left of the Romulan Empire and add it to their territory. The Cardassians have also failed and their capital was now in the hands of Stargate Command and while they were human they were not part of the Federation.

The Dominion had failed too to stop the invading forces. According to all reports, their main fleet had being defeated. Some percentage of that fleet had escaped and was now scattered throughout the Gamma Quadrant. For some reason, the Founders' world has vanished and without the Founders, the Jem Hadar were not going to last long. Stargate Command did not need to finish them off.

Jean-Luc sat on the sofa in his quarters. Their world had being turned upside down. Their arrogance had blinded them of false superiority. Jean-Luc never thought they would find themselves in such situation and yet here they were.

If it were three centuries ago, Jean-Luc doubted things would have developed that way. Of course, the twenty-first century humans had three centuries to perfect their technology and now were kicking their butts. How did the Federation managed to underestimate them this much? Have they grown this complacent that couldn't see it?

Jean-Luc remembered the day Q sent them to meet the Borg. They had discovered they were not as ready as they thought. They got their asses kicked. And then they had managed to rise to the occasion and fight back. Now, it wasn't going to be any different. They will rise to the occasion and they will fight back. But first they had to learn more of their past and why was it kept from them? What were the people of the past afraid of?

* * *

And as though everything was going on badly, they received the really bad news just a few hours later.

"Captain, Starfleet is calling on Gold channel 1!"

Jean-Luc stood up from the sofa and headed to his desk. Gold channel hadn't been used in over two centuries. It was one of the first designations for priority one channel. He activated the screen and voice commanded his authorization code. The screen came to life and he saw Admiral Gardner. He did not look well.

"Admiral,"

"Sad tidings, Captain," Admiral Gardner replied and because of Jean-Luc's confused expression he sighed and added. "Starfleet Headquarters has fallen…"

"WHAT?" Jean-Luc exclaimed even more confused.

"As of o two hundred, the forces of the Stargate Command seized the Headquarters of Starfleet by force. We fought back but it was rather useless. They control every military unit on Earth – Aerial, Naval, and Infantry. As it turned out we underestimated their numbers."

"Admiral, you are not making any sense." Jean-Luc exclaimed trying to assimilate the news.

"I think I was plain enough, Captain." Admiral Gardner replied raising an eyebrow frustrated of the captain's inability to assimilate such simple and yet terrible news. "Starfleet Headquarters are under the control of Stargate Command led by Major General David Hammond."

"How many casualties?"

"Minimal," Admiral Gardner replied. "They took us by surprise. Used some kind of stunner we have never seen before. Anyway, Captain, Earth is off-limits. We have set a temporal command on Vulcan. We expect you there."

"What about the colonies, the defense fleet…"

"Ah, the defense fleet, the defense fleet, Captain, was on exercises when this happened. Four percent of it veered off straight to Earth and we lost contact. Our hails remained completely ignored. We can safely assume they have joined with their friends."

"We will make haste for Vulcan then." Jean-Luc replied in almost defeatist tone. Once again, they were very unprepared. A coup on Earth, they did not think they were that ready.

"Good, Starfleet out," Admiral Gardner disappeared.

"Number One," Jean-Luc said with hoarse voice.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Convene a meeting of the senior staff in the briefing room in ten minutes,"

"Yes, Captain,"

Jean-Luc closed eyes. The rug under their feet had finally slipped again but this time they did not see it coming. The enemy, for now he had to call them that way, had pulled another rabbit from the hat. Starfleet had been afraid of a civil war instead it was a coup, a much planned coup.

His senior staff including Admiral Nechev had gathered already in the conference lounge as he entered. The report he had just received did not depict anything good. It was a supplement to the admiral's news. He looked at each of them and grimly sat down adding to the dramatic effect, then sighing he said. "I've just spoken with Admiral Gardner."

The others exchanged looks but said nothing so Jean-Luc continued. "At o two hundred this morning, an elite force led by Stargate Command has seized by force the building of Starfleet Headquarters. Half an hour later, Earth's defense fleet, that was on maneuver, received a recall. Twelve vessels broke formation and headed straight for Earth where they have declared officially their support for the new order.

The lunar colony observed four spatial rifts. From each rift, a space ship had emerged each baring the insignia of Stargate Command. Their codes though different from ours and known as IFFs are the USS Orion, USS Triple Star, HMS Dauntless and CSRS Sun Tzu. These ships had moved into high orbit of Earth into defensive formation.

Before the lunar colony stopped transmitting two hours afterwards, it had detected a space station at about half the way from Earth to the Moon. Its hull configuration suggests twenty-first century's materials. Its signal identified as Home World Station One.

As of now, Vulcan is the new temporal headquarters for Starfleet where the rest of all Starfleet vessels will assemble. And now, well actually, a few minutes ago, we are in a state of war with Earth!"

Silence befell the captain's speech. Riker kept looking at Diana and Beverly and back at the captain with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Admiral Nechev did not display any signs of panic or anything else other than her usual coldness and firmness.

"How did it all come apart this quickly?" Commander Riker exclaimed after a while.

"I wish I had an answer for you, Number One, but I do not." Jean-Luc exhaled containing barely his emotions that threatened to surface.

"Rome was not built in one day, Captain Picard," A strange eerie voice filled in the conference room. "But it did burn in one!"

* * *

"Who said this?" Commander Riker exclaimed bolting out of his chair with phaser in hand.

"Relax, Commander," The eerie voice replied. "If I was any threat you'd have never seen it coming besides this feeble weapon is harmless to me."

"Show yourself and we will find out!"

"As you wish," As the last sounds of the reply came a shimmering light appeared opposite of Jean-Luc's seat and with the figure of a tall man dressed from head to toe in black, covered by silver mantle.

Commander Riker reacted instinctively and fired his phaser. Much to his utter surprise the phaser hit the intruder and produced absolutely nothing. Riker's finger however did not loosen his grip on the button and the phaser continued its firing. The figure suddenly raised its hand and the beam retracted into the phaser earning a look of total bewilderment.

"Who are you?" Admiral Nechev already standing up asked.

"Who am I is irrelevant," The figure in black said. "At least for now,"

"How did you do that?" Riker exclaimed still dumbfounded.

The tall man in the black attire smiled. "When one is one with the universe one doesn't ask one only understands."

"What?" Riker exclaimed perplexed.

"You see when you grow wiser one day you will understand and shall ask no more."

"Speak plainly,"

"I am but the noises are standing in your way."

"Noises? What noises?"

But the figured only chuckled. "I have always admired your species even in times like these. Captain Picard, you and your Federation are being put to a test unlike any other you have ever faced before. It is time the Federation proves its worth."

"We've done that…"

"For the Q, perhaps," The tall man in the black attire interrupted. "For the generations before you however you have not. The Federation has made many mistakes since its founding days and has yet to prove itself worthy.

Along the path, you shall meet new threats, threats awakening from darker times when this galaxy looked differently and younger. How the Federation conducts itself from now on will decide its future.

I have to say you are in for a treat. Not many species, Captain, get this chance to explore truly their past. And Earth's past is one of the most interesting ones. Who knows maybe you will go further than any human since the foundation of the Federation. Strap yourselves in, Starfleet, you are in for a great adventure into the depths of what is known and what isn't…" And with that the figure flickered and melted away leaving them wondering of the meaning.

Jean-Luc was ready to argue like he did with Q but this being did not give him the chance and it was obvious he was not Q though his powers suggested otherwise or at least something similar. Instead he started pondering on the meaning of his words. 'The Federation had to prove itself to the generations before it', before its conception Jean-Luc reasoned.

So that was a clue – the people descendants of the Stargate Command did not believe in the worth of the Federation hence this happened this quickly. True, the Federation has made a lot of mistakes but then again who hasn't. No conglomeration this big could go without ones. Still, if the Federation's own people did not believe in it what was its point of existence? What were they fighting for then? A dream…

No, Jean-Luc thrust head, the Federation stood for something and they were going to prove it over and over again, if necessary. The Federation has not lost its way, not yet anyway. For the first time in its conception, the Federation faced a crisis unlike any other. It had divided in two. Well, not the Federation itself but Earth. Earth has been the pillar that supports the Federation, the glue that keeps everyone together. The tall man was right about one thing the Federation was under a test and they had no option but pass it with flying colors.

* * *

The great city of Atlantis appeared in the skies above the Earth. Geordie was once again on first row on the railing at the control room. He did not think they would be bold enough to appear straight at Earth but obviously he had been mistaken.

The first thing that struck him as odd was the lack of a greeting party. Soon, he relaxed seeing Starfleet ships arriving on both sides of the city. But they did not fire and this was second strange thing.

"Commander Laforge,"

A voice broke off his revelation thoughts. He turned around and saw a rather young-looking female with the rank of captain.

"Yes?"

"Would you be so kind to get in?"

"Why?"

"We're about to land!"

"LAND?" Geordie looked at her bewildered. "Land where?"

"Please come inside," The young female captain insisted.

Geordie sighed and followed her in. There he saw the third strange thing and that was half a dozen people in Starfleet uniforms among which he even recognized one – Lieutenant James but a closer look told him he was wrong though the resemblance was staggering.

"Captain Harriman,"

"Lt Commander James," The young female captain replied and they went in each other's embrace. Seeing Geordie's confusion she added. "He is USS Enterprise Security Lieutenant James' twin brother, Commander."

"Oh!" Geordie exclaimed. So, he was not entirely wrong.

"Alicia,"

"Jeremy, it has been awhile."

"Indeed,"

"I trust there were not many casualties?" Alicia Harriman asked.

"A few, sadly, it was unavoidable. They put in quite a fight." Jeremy James replied.

"Oi, you two enough chatter," Major Connor McKay scolded them. "Take your positions,"

"Yes, Major," The two winked at each other and moved to their designated posts.

"Commander Laforge," Major Connor McKay turned to Geordie.

"Major,"

"Please take a seat in the briefing room,"

"Of course," Geordie replied almost on automatic. He was uncertain about what was going on. She said – land, land what – the city. How and where? Can this thing actually land? He seated himself in the briefing room that was adjunct to the control room and waited. Soon, the shaking told him they had entered Earth's atmosphere. The friction was so enormous that apparently not even the inertia compensators could keep up. And just two minutes later, the shaking stopped.

* * *

Major Connor McKay reappeared with Colonel Teyla Sheppard.

"Commander, come!"

Geordie stood up and followed them to the railing outside the control room where his jaw was nailed to the floor. The city was floating outside of San Francisco. It was already surrounded by a few Naval Fleet vessels and a few Starfleet shuttles. For his continuing surprise the shuttles crossed through the shields without a problem and landed on the East Pier platforms.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Colonel Teyla Sheppard smiled. "We are home, Commander."

Major Connor McKay though felt the need to explain. "If by any chance you were wondering why the Starfleet ships did not attack us, it would be because Earth is now under the control of Stargate Command."

"WHAT?" Geordie exclaimed stunned.

"He is right, Commander." Colonel Teyla Sheppard added. "We have taken over Starfleet Headquarters. Your people gave us little choice."

"Little choice? Is this how you are going to prove it attacking Starfleet?"

"We did not start this, Commander. We came back with open arms. Your people initiated the conflict first."

"We hoped it would never come to this." Major Connor McKay said. "Sadly Starfleet lost it when they learnt that half of their staff are descendants of the Stargate Program. They forced the issue and that act created a division in the ranks, and this now is simply the after effect of it, an uncontrolled event."

"He's right." Colonel Teyla said with genuine sadness in her voice. "We had hoped you have evolved. True in your place, I doubt we'd have reacted any other way but that's because we are used to war, constant warfare. But we hoped that a race that has spent the past three centuries in exploration would have changed we were wrong."

"The moment Starfleet sensed they were losing control they became something very ugly and gave us no choice but to take action before things escalate into a civil war."

"The attacks were a diversion." Geordie said suddenly realizing their tactics.

"It is not how we envisioned first contact with Starfleet." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said. "It began wrongly ever since we bumped into Admiral Benson's fleet. Your people perceived us a threat and did not stop there."

"Well, you did come with a military force." Geordie countered.

"True, I'm not denying this. But then again every major power in the galaxy has military ships. I don't see you jumping on their throats like you jumped on ours." Teyla retorted.

"I guess we got on the wrong foot after all." Geordie acknowledged.

"Well, no, I think we ran out of wrong feet a long time ago." Major Connor McKay said.

"But you can relax, Commander. There were only a few casualties. They will be burried later for their bravery."

"You'd do that for the enemy?"

"They are not the enemy, Commander. They were doing their job like anyone in their place, and that is an act worthy of respect." Teyla countered.

"We are not the enemy, Commander Laforge." McKay added. "Miscommunication however is the enemy. And we will have to fix it later."

"Right now, Commander," Teyla said. "There are many confused Starfleet officers and they will need you to explain the situation. No one is going to be harmed. If the rest of your people wishes to leave and rejoin Starfleet on Vulcan they can do so, no one is going to stop them."

"Vulcan?"

"Yes, our intelligence suggests that Starfleet has made temporal headquarters there and all Starfleet vessels had been ordered there." McKay answered.

"Of course," Geordie said. "I will speak with them but before that I guess I have to understand what is going on and mostly why."

"We will help you there." Teyla said. "Captain Harriman, Commander James, you will go with Commander Laforge to Starfleet Headquarters so he can shed some light to his colleagues."

"Yes, Colonel,"

"And then we shall meet again to discuss further what is going to become of Earth." Teyla added. "And the galaxy,"

"I look forward to that end." Geordie said. "But I still need to contact Captain Picard and let him know I'm fine."

"Of course,"

Geordie left with Captain Harriman and Lt Commander James. He collected Crewman Jordan and Lieutenant Nahuro and both headed for the nearest shuttle that took them to Starfleet Headquarters.

* * *

Captain Picard was in his quarters joined by Captain Sisko, Commander Riker and Commander Worf. They had been now on Vulcan for two days. Starfleet was in complete disarray.

"Captain Picard," the com badge flared.

"Yes,"

"Receiving a communication from Starfleet Headquarters on Earth and it's for you personally."

"Sent it here." Jean-Luc said and went to his desk. He activated the screen and was relieved to see Commander Laforge on the other side. "Commander Laforge,"

"Captain," Geordie replied.

"We thought we lost you."

"For a moment, I thought the same Captain."

"Where did you go? From the planet that is!"

"We ended on Home World Station One in ionic orbit. It took us some time to figure it out though. It is…"

"Yes, we know between Earth and the Moon." Captain Sisko interrupted. "What happened then?"

"Well, we found two F302s and were heading for the Lunar Colony when we were swept by the USS Young and then brought to Atlantis…"

"Atlantis?" Everyone in the room exclaimed.

"Yes," Geordie nodded. "It is a marvelous piece of technological engineering. It is actually a starship as big as Manhattan…"

"Then what happened?" Jean-Luc interrupted otherwise Geordie would fall into too much detail and that could wait.

"Well, Captain, I have to say I have seen the bulk of our fleet, and that of the other races but nothing compares to the sight of the Young Alliance's fleet. There were ships from three different galaxies…"

"Galaxies?" Commander Riker exclaimed. "Geordie?"

"Yes, apparently our friends from Stargate Command have been around a lot." Geordie replied. "I will send you my report later. Anyway, um, they gathered their fleets and one headed for the Founders' home world and the other one for Cardassia Prime.

I stayed with Atlantis. They have developed a device that sends planets into other dimensions and that's how both planets controlled by the Founders disappeared. And then…oh God…I have never seen such ferocity.

They unleashed hell upon the remaining forces of the Dominion. The Jem Hadar ships are powerful but they have never met these guys. We'd definitely underestimated their firepower…

Anyway, after Atlantis was done with the Dominion they jumped to Cardassia Prime and finished off the rest of the Cardassian fleet still in orbit. Then they came to the planet to subdue what was left of the Cardassian troops. Many tried to escape but failed while the rest were executed.

Gul Dukat and the female founder were arrested upon their attempt to escape. He was rather pissed but nothing could help him. And then we came to Earth where I found out that they had carried a coup…."

"How many are the casualties?" Jean-Luc asked interrupting again.

"Less than a dozen," Geordie replied. "They have been very careful in avoiding killing people but some casualties are simply unavoidable I guess."

"How are the people taking this?"

"Rather well actually," Geordie said. "The planet knows that there has been a shift of power and that Starfleet has fled to Vulcan and they are taking it rather well."

"Taking it well?" Commander Riker exclaimed his tone rising. "They have been captured and they are taking it well?"

"Well, actually, Commander, the people do not consider Stargate Command as the enemy." Geordie countered. "They see them as the lost children of Earth that have come home."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Perhaps," Geordie shrugged. "But that's just the way it is. There are no riots on the streets, no manifestations, no anything. The leaders of Stargate Command are explaining even as we speak how all of it came to be and the people are accepting it. They are not hiding anything."

"That's impossible. How can they be taking this development lightly?"

"They are humans, Commander and they have come home. Even if we have started on the wrong feet, they are still our people."

"He's got a point, Number One." Jean-Luc agreed. "We did over react and now we see what the price is."

"The price? Really?"

"Am, Captain, I have here the leader of Atlantis with me. She wants to speak with you." Geordie added.

"Of course,"

* * *

Geordie stood aside and Colonel Teyla Sheppard took his place.

"Captain Picard, it is an honor meeting you. I have heard many good things about you."

"Thank you,"

"I understand Admiral Nechev is onboard the Enterprise."

"You are well-informed. How many spies do you have aboard my ship?"

"Spies? Captain, such a crude classification! They are just doing their duty." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said. "I know things did not develop the way they should have and things got out of control."

"To say the least," Commander Worf observed.

"Indeed," Colonel Teyla Sheppard said apologetically. "But we still have time to fix it before it goes viral even more. The Young Alliance is hereby inviting the USS Enterprise to Earth so that we can find a peaceful compromise to the current situation.

I believe Admiral Nechev and yourself would be the perfect negotiators on behalf of the Federation and Starfleet."

"That's um…"

"Captain, we are not your enemy." Teyla said. "We are the same blood. The human race has evolved, I hope. We can together find a way to coexist peacefully. There is no need for us to fight one another. Stargate Command has no wish to rule. We did not come for this reason."

"And what other reason there is?" Commander Riker said.

"Come and find out!" Teyla replied.

"We accept your invitation, Colonel." Jean-Luc said. "I shall tell the admiral…"

"She already knows, Captain." Admiral Nechev said as she entered his quarters. "Colonel Sheppard, I expect full diplomatic courtesy."

"Of course," Teyla replied.

"I also want to see all of your captives and I want to see that they are well treated." Admiral Nechev continued.

"No one has been harmed, Admiral, apart the initial casualties while our people were securing your headquarters." Teyla said.

"Excellent, then we shall meet in one week."

"Admiral, I can send Atlantis to pick you up. It would save some time." Teyla proposed.

"How much time?" Commander Riker mocked.

"I can have Atlantis ready and be on Vulcan in ten minutes. Is that ok?" Teyla replied with a smile and just as mocking.

Commander Riker stood baffled at this answer his eyes blinking hard and trying to decide whether the colonel was making a joke or not.

"An hour," Admiral Nechev said.

"An hour, it is." Colonel Teyla Sheppard replied. "Earth out!"

"An hour?" Commander Riker mocked. "Yeah, right, when pigs start to fly."

"You'd be surprised, Commander." Admiral Nechev said coldly. "Have the ship ready in one hour, Captain. I must speak with the Admirals."

"Yes, Admiral," Jean-Luc said throwing a stern look at Riker.

* * *

An hour later, the USS Enterprise left orbit of Vulcan and was waiting patiently for the city of Atlantis that did not fail to appear.

"Captain," Ensign Sito called. "It is Atlantis. It just appeared."

"How?" Jean-Luc asked.

"I have no idea, sir. It just appeared out of nowhere."

"On screen,"

Jean-Luc and all his sitting officers were on their feet. Commander Laforge's report did not give justice to the majestic beauty before their eyes. The grey metallic technological wonder cleaved through space with such ease it was worthy of total admiration. Jean-Luc quickly fell in love with it. A massive shield protected the city, a bubble without which logically it could not be.

"Sensor sweep, Mr. Worf." Jean-Luc ordered.

"It has no visible weapons." Mr. Worf replied studying the flowing data. "Sensors are picking up a drive as specified by Commander Laforge, an encompassing the city shield grid that is vastly superior to our own, and that's about it."

"What? Nothing else?"

"No, captain," Mr. Worf shook head. "The sensors are having trouble with this shield."

"Captain, we've been hailed."

"On screen,"

The screen activated and before them stood a man thirty years old with devilish flames in his blue eyes dressed in black leather jacket.

"USS Enterprise, I'm Major Connor McKay of the city of Atlantis."

"Major, I'm Captain Picard of the…"

"Yes, Captain," Major Connor McKay interrupted. "We are sending your entry vector. The city shields will be lowered for a moment long enough for you to come in. You can land on the West Pier. Atlantis out!"

"He's not very chatty!" Counselor Troi observed. "But he is curious and excited to meet us."

"Mr. Worf,"

"I've received the instructions."

"Let's go then." Jean-Luc said retaking his seat.

The Enterprise followed the given instructions and just as told the massive shields went off allowing them to enter the city's space and just as they crossed the shields were up again. The helm directed the ship to the West Pier which as the sensors suggested was big enough for the ship to land.

"Sensor sweep, Mr. Worf," Jean-Luc said.

"Yes, sir," Worf replied. He directed the sensors at the city before them. Much of the data indicated the city had a complement of ten thousand biosigns, all human more or less. There was a group that was slightly different from the rest. There were four shield generators responsible for the city's shielding. There were no signs of weapons though of any kind, which was peculiar.

"What else, Mr. Worf?" Jean-Luc asked.

"They have a kind of sublight engine and the other one specified by Commander Laforge. There is also a lot of transport activity and a power source."

"What kind of power source?"

"I can't tell you that. Sensors are picking up massive power emission but are unable to identify it. It is possible there is some interference. There are four hangar bays two in the main tower, and two in the lower bowels of the city, and the rest is quarters, sir."

"Curious,"

"I'm also picking up something that could be a hydroponics bay."

"No weapons?" Commander Riker asked perplexed.

"Other than firearms, primitive bullet ones and some energy based sidearm, nothing really,"

"Peculiar," Riker exclaimed. "One would think that a city this size will not rely only on shields."

"It is possible it doesn't have any." Jean-Luc shrugged.

"But highly unlikely, Captain,"

"I agree." Jean-Luc nodded. "Keep your eyes and ears open, people. Mr. Worf, make sure there are no surprises."

"Yes, Captain,"

"Well then let's go and meet our hosts!"

* * *

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	9. When the wind blows south

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past. A secret so dangerous, that it threatens to divide the Earth in two and reshape the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**When the wind blows south…**

At the West Pier, an escort of twenty-four soldiers in green uniforms baring the insignia of Atlantis came to greet the crew of the Enterprise and took them to the main tower housing the control and briefing room. In there, Jean-Luc saw the ring-shaped device that he now knew as the Stargate. It was of a different design that the one in the Alpha site and far more beautiful with shining crystal dots representing the star constellations.

Stairs led up to what Jean-Luc assumed is the controls of the main systems of the city. Many people sat there working on the consoles. And on the stairs, Colonel Sheppard and Major McKay stood poised to greet them. Among them was also Commander Laforge.

"Captain Picard," Colonel Sheppard greeted with open arms. As Jean-Luc came to notice, she was thirty-seven years old with vivid green eyes and long black hair falling freely on her shoulders. She was dressed in black leather jacket and such trousers all baring the insignia of Atlantis – an A with a small circle atop the letter encircled in a Stargate. "Welcome to the city of Atlantis!"

"Thank you for having us," said Jean-Luc returning the greeting gesture. "This is my first officer Commander William Riker, my second officer Lt Commander Data, the ship's councilor Diana Troi, my tactical officer Commander Worf and the ship's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Beverly Crusher."

Each of them nodded in turn as they were announced.

"And of course, you've already met my Chief Engineer Commander Laforge," Jean-Luc added pointing at Geordie that stood next to McKay.

"Yes, Commander Laforge has been our guest for these past weeks." Colonel Sheppard replied. Major McKay gave a loud hum and remembering the others she added. "This is Major Connor McKay, Chief Science Officer, Colonel Chloe Scott, commander of the USS Young, Captain Lara Dex of the PSS Traveler, Lieutenant Chuck Lorne, Atlantis Security, and Dr. Evelyn Wallace, Chief Medical Officer."

Jean-Luc and his crew gave a nod at everyone as announced. He was dully surprised though only starship captains met him. Didn't they have a more developed hierarchy? Or perhaps not everyone was meant to come and greet them.

"This way, please," Colonel Sheppard gestured.

They followed her up the stairs and to the left where a part of the wall swirled open revealing a conference room with twelve chairs around a hexagon, metallic table. It was made of the same material that covered everything around. Jean-Luc nodded at Worf and he got out his tricorder scanning it though hiding doing it.

"Feel free to scan at will, Commander." Major McKay said as he sat down.

Jean-Luc's eyes widened with surprise. He thought it would go unnoticed but apparently they were more vigilant than they were giving them credit for. Suddenly Jean-Luc realized Admiral Nechev was not with them.

"Is there a problem, Captain?" Major McKay asked.

"Um, no," Jean-Luc mumbled. "Admiral Nechev seems to be…"

"Don't worry about the admiral, Captain." Colonel Sheppard said. "She's perfectly fine. She expressed the need to see the captives. She will join us later."

"Of course," Jean-Luc said. "Mr. Worf,"

"Well, it is difficult to say, Captain." Worf replied. The data his tricorder was providing was not telling him anything. "This metal is unknown to us."

Jean-Luc did not believe it possible. The Federation database was very extensive but apparently there were still elements to be added.

"Atlantis' inner structure is composed of trinium, neutronium, keron, titanium and I suppose you could call it a new element – collaris." Major McKay informed the curious looks of the Starfleet officers.

"Trinium?"

"It is a metal. It is brittle easy to break but once it cools off it becomes a hundred times stronger than steel and about as much lighter. Let me put it this way – a trinium arrow will break through a forty inches protective glass with such ease as though it was knife through butter."

Jean-Luc and his crew looked surprised. It was not as strong tritanium but still it was rather impressive.

"We will have the time to exchange building materials later." Colonel Sheppard said thus ending the discussion about the building blocks of Atlantis. She threw a stern look at McKay. It was not the time to show their pluses or minuses yet. He understood by giving a single nod.

"Of course," Captain Picard said. "We are here to discuss how to coexist."

"Yes," Colonel Sheppard nodded thankful of the change of subject.

* * *

**Planet Vulcan, Home World of the Vulcans and Temporal Starfleet Headquarters**

Admiral Benson was pacing angrily in his given quarters on Mount Seleya's temple on the Vulcan home world. Without any authorization, Admiral Nechev has left with the Enterprise on a peace mission to Earth and the renegade organization known as Stargate Command that had seized the planet by force.

A beep on the door threw him out of his thoughts.

"Enter!"

The door slid open and Minister T'Rel entered. She was the newly elected leader of the Vulcan's High Council, the governing body of Vulcan.

"Admiral,"

"Minister," Admiral Benson acknowledged her with a curt nod. "What news of Earth?"

"Stargate Command housed Enterprise and Admiral Nechev. They have begun the peace negotiations. It is perfectly natural and normal course of action."

"Normal is not the word I would choose to describe this insubordination." Admiral Benson flared up. "Starfleet Command has not given authorization for this."

"It was hardly possible to impede their departure unless you're suggesting we should have fired upon the Enterprise." Minister T'Rel replied calmly only raising an eyebrow.

"Don't get ridiculous," Admiral Benson bit his lip. Of course, they will not fire on the Enterprise. "Still, this is not the desired direction."

"You wish to fight another war?"

"I wish…" Admiral Benson exhaled angrily through his nostrils. "I wish. What does it matter now? They have already gone!"

"The Federation wishes a peaceful resolution to this conflict, Admiral. Are you suggesting that Starfleet does not share the same goal?"

"I don't trust them. They have come with an agenda of their own. We will not share power with them."

"I see." Minister T'Rel saw now what the problem is.

"No, you don't." Admiral Benson exclaimed. "Do you really think someone as powerful as them will simply lie down and share everything? Trust me, Minister, their plans couldn't be any further from this. They have come to rule and Starfleet will not allow this to happen."

"So there is going to be war then?"

"Not going to, we already are in a state of war."

"So then why did you call for me?"

"Starfleet doesn't want to bring any harm to Vulcan however we know that the Vulcan High Command has been working on some destroyer class ships…"

"I see." Minster T'Rel pursed her lips while throwing a stern look at the admiral. Their little project had not gone unnoticed by Starfleet.

"…in collaboration with the Andorian Imperial Guard." Admiral Benson continued. "Their weapon systems, I believe, is based on the Sphere Builders' super weapon."

"Starfleet is well-informed, Admiral."

"No, but Section 31 is." Admiral Benson countered with flashing eyes.

"I have to discuss this matter with the council." Minister T'Rel said.

"Please do!" Admiral Benson replied a smile forming on his lips. Soon, the balance will tip in their favor. The Sphere Builders over two centuries ago launched a devastating attack on the Earth and only the diligence of Captain Archer and the Enterprise NX01's crew prevented the planet's destruction. Well it is not the Sphere Builders per say they had used the Xindi for that but still.

Minister T'Rel left the Admiral's quarters. Admiral Benson's smile grew. Soon, very soon, this Stargate Command will be in for a very rude awakening. The Xindi super weapon capable of destroying entire planets will soon be in his hands and then he will chase those intruders and not even God will be able to help them.

Section 31, now under his direct control, reported that the Vulcans and the Andorians have managed to mount this devastating ray on smaller ships. Its destructive power was not the same as the super weapon itself but it could reduce a Borg ship to rubble and space dust in a few shots.

The weapon's specifications put it as the most advanced beam in the Federation, hell even in the galaxy. It should be powerful enough to destroy a Sovereign Class Starship in just two shots. The Vulcans and the Andorians developed it to combat the threat posed by the Dominion but now it was going to serve an even better purpose – the destruction of this Stargate Command and their allies. And no one ever was going to question the supremacy of Starfleet or Section 31.

* * *

"Admiral,"

Admiral Benson hated when people interrupt his thoughts. His personal screen was active with Secret Agent James Sloan (Luthor Sloan's son).

"Mr. Sloan," Admiral Benson raised an eyebrow while studying the young man.

"We've located the Vulcan Andorian shipyards. You've got to see those ships, Admiral. They are magnificent."

"I will see them when they annihilate the enemy." Admiral Benson exclaimed. "But still show me!"

Agent Sloan moved aside and the admiral quickly fell in love. The design of the ships merged Vulcan and Andorian design. It was a beautiful combination – the lethal sturdiness of the Andorians and the structural gentleness of the Vulcans. The Xindi upgrades replaced the standard phaser banks and outmatched them ten to one.

"How fast are they?" Admiral Benson asked.

"The fastest," Agent Sloan replied. "Warp 9.99,"

"Excellent,"

"They are equipped with cloaking devices that are undetectable. They can also travel through the subspace flexures that lead straight into Earth's orbit."

"The Vulcans have been busy it would seem?"

"They wanted to be sure the Dominion cannot launch a surprise attack on Earth."

"And this will serve us well. Who else knows of this?"

"Right now, we are the only ones and the Vulcan High Command. The Andorians that did are dead now."

"Excellent news, Agent James Sloan. Your father would have been proud."

"I look forward to payback."

"You will, son! You will have your vengeance but after we are done with Stargate Command."

"You can make sure Dr. Bashir and Chief O'Brien will be aboard the Defiant?"

"Don't worry about that, they will be. You have my word."

"Thank you, Admiral."

"Now lay low."

"Yes, Admiral,"

The screen deactivated. Admiral Benson was giddy with excitement. Soon, very soon, he will send this Stargate Command straight into the cold hands of death. And then Starfleet will undergo changes. He like other admirals has grown tired of the ethical rule set and the other restrictions.

The dice is cast. The end of Starfleet was also near. Well, it isn't the end. It is more like restructuring it into something far more powerful. It was the birth of a new rule, a new order the order of the Iron Fist, no more mister nice guy, and with this pleasant thought in mind the Admiral turned in bed for a well deserved nap.

* * *

Back on Atlantis, the city of the Ancients, negotiations were not proceeding as smoothly as everyone had hoped. Admiral Nechev was relentless in demanding access to the technological advancements the humans have made since they left Earth and she was meeting great resistance.

"The United Federation of Planets exists to protect its members and make discoveries thus leading to the betterment of its members. We share everything." Admiral Nechev said continuing her fiery speech.

"We understand perfectly the rules of the Federation, Admiral, but what you are asking is simply out of the question." Colonel Sheppard countered. "There is a reason my ancestors left the Earth. They believed that such a quick advancement will lead to total disaster and given what has happened after they left I agree with them.

We can begin by taking it slow. Trust me, Admiral! We have seen what damage this advanced technology does to worlds: Civilizations advancing too quickly too fast leads only to disaster."

"And you think you're better equipped to handle it than we are?"

"Admiral, we have handled it for the past 3 centuries without a problem. I'm not saying we are not going to share. On contrary we are going to share but we are going to take it slowly, one step at a time.

Your people Admiral are unfamiliar with these technologies. It will take time for them to learn of them, understand them and then used them. It is not going to happen overnight. Some of our advancements are so up your rally you would not know how to make heads and tails of them let alone start using them."

"The Federation scientists can handle it."

"It is admirable you have such high esteem for your scientists' abilities, Admiral. But it doesn't work like that." Colonel Sheppard said calmly cooling things down. "Major McKay, show them hyperspace."

Major McKay stood and left for a moment the conference room. He returned shortly after with a small domed device. He placed it on the table and pressed a button. A hologram appeared with the specifications for hyperspace.

It was as Geordie remembered seeing it on Home World Station One. The mathematics involved was complete gibberish.

"What is that?" Commander Riker exclaimed.

"This is hyperspace on basic mathematics." Major McKay replied with a smile.

"Commander Data," Jean-Luc called. "Do you understand it?"

Commander Data was already studying the formulas but his face was displaying total surprise. "I…um…" His face depicted deep confusion.

Jean-Luc had seen Data confused rarely but speechless almost never. So it would seem that Colonel Sheppard's warning was genuine.

"Um…" Data kept opening and closing his mouth, muttering some things but nothing coherent came out of him at all.

Major McKay as Colonel Sheppard noted was displaying fully his smile of superiority and amusement. Actually, the formulas were not that difficult but when one doesn't know what the secret is it is rather impossible to decipher the puzzle.

Actually, his grandfather – the great Doctor Rodney McKay was the man who wrote the book on hyperspace in collaboration with Doctor Amanda Perry (expert on Ancient propulsion and hyperspace generators).

"We can dive in technological matters when we come to some sort of agreement." Colonel Sheppard said after a while. "In the meantime, I propose we take a recess. We will reconvene tomorrow morning."

"Agreed." Admiral Nechev said. She was not happy with this development but it was after all only the first day. They had many differences with the Atlanteans on many subjects. They have lived under a different code of conduct. But they did share many aspects with them too like the Prime Directive of non-interference with less developed civilizations.

* * *

"I think this went rather well." Major McKay said after the Starfleet officers left.

"To a point, Connor, to a point," Colonel Sheppard said.

"It is only the first day, Teyla." Connor McKay pointed out.

"True," Teyla Sheppard said sighing deeply. "But it was sufficient to know their desires. It is happening again."

"Stop!" Connor McKay moved to her and gave her a pat on the back. "It is not going to be like the last time."

"Connor, it started the same way."

"I know. We made a mistake back then but not again."

"Your grandfather was right. We should have stayed in the Pegasus."

"And let the Replicators run free in the Milky Way? Like hell, we will."

Teyla Sheppard sunk heavily back in her chair putting her arms on the table to hold her head.

"They are not ready!"

Connor McKay sat next to her. He embraced her letting her head rest on his shoulder. "Will they ever be?" It was the question Stargate Command had asked themselves long ago when they thought of divulging the Stargate Program to the people of the world. "We told them part of the truth. This has to count for something, doesn't it?"

"I suppose." Teyla Sheppard replied. The truth was they did divulge part of the truth to the now Earth but they left many things out. They needed only the sympathy of Earth's population to avoid a civil war and upfront rebellion. They have succeeded in that regard. But now Admiral Nechev was pushing their buttons. She had seen their power or at least part of it and wanted more. She was like a hungry child. True, the Federation craved knowledge but too much of it was a dangerous tool.

Teyla understood well the Federation's wish for betterment through discovery and personal growth but their knowledge was so much more than the Federation could imagine. The contained knowledge was that of the Ancients, the Asurans, the Asgard, the Wraith, the Yllyans and the Furlings. It was too much for anyone to handle it responsibly, which is why it was divided equally among the sixty-four Atlantean cities. It was done so to make sure its safety and prevent anyone of gaining too much knowledge.

"We will manage. We always do." Connor McKay said after a moment of silence.

"I hope so." Teyla Sheppard murmured.

"Well then Colonel back to work," Connor McKay said slightly nudging her.

"Yes, sir," Teyla Sheppard exhaled and pulled away from him. She stood up, straightening her clothes winked at him. "Much work to be done."

"Yep," Connor McKay said and stood as well. "Colonel," He saluted.

"Major," She returned the favor and both left the conference room.

* * *

The next day, Jean-Luc was in his quarters aboard the Enterprise. He was with Beverly having breakfast and a nice conversation about archeological digs when the com beeped.

"Picard here,"

"Captain,"

"Mr. Data,"

"Commander Laforge and I require your presence in Stellar Cartography."

"Can it wait, Commander?"

"Captain?"

"I'm trying to have breakfast."

"I'm sorry, Captain. You can come afterwards." Geordie added.

"Very well, Picard out," Jean-Luc said rolling his eyes.

"Maybe they discovered something interesting." She said offering a smile.

"After breakfast," Jean-Luc insisted. "It is the only peaceful moment of the morning."

"Of course, Jean-Luc."

"Now, where were we?"

"You were telling me of the findings on Camorra!"

"Ah, yes…"

And they fell back into the sweet talk of archeological findings. Beverly did not exactly share Jean-Luc's fascination with fossil cultures but it was a good way to pass the time. She had always enjoyed seeing him distracted positively in times of turmoil and focused on something he was passionate about.

She of course knew he was hiding his enormous thrill the city of Atlantis was giving him. It was every archeologist's dream to find and dissect its wonders. Even she had to admit having a thrill when she was in it yesterday: six angular pylons connecting to a central island, which included the central tower.

Each pylon has many buildings each of which has hundreds of quarters, laboratories and god knows what else. The control tower like spear pointing at the sky is where the Stargate is, the medical bay filled with lots of advancements Beverly was dying to get her hands on, and the hangar bay containing these small circular ships that fit through the Stargate, strangely named Puddle Jumpers.

Still the day was young and perhaps she would have the pleasure in diving into these unknown waters of knowledge gathered throughout three centuries and containing new creatures and species. She had almost no other interest than the medical stuff. Of course it was fascinating to learn of other planets and even galaxies inhabited as it seemed mostly by humans.

Still, she continued listening to Jean-Luc's dry explanations of jars and stones, and statutes and figures left by unknown races that inhabited dead worlds. The detail into which Jean-Luc was diving was always something fascinating. His obsession fitted the best description of passion about a subject he never really got the chance to explore due to his Starfleet career.

* * *

Having finished breakfast, Beverly left his quarters and headed to her medical bay where there was much work. There were many casualties accepted by the Enterprise after the disastrous events of the past few days – a few Klingons with severe radiation burning, Starfleet staff that suffered wounds when the battle with the Jem Hadar's ships heated and the standard injures occurring aboard the Enterprise – work and holodecks.

"Lieutenant Nagala,"

"Doctor,"

She and the lieutenant started working. First, she dealt with one Klingon. He had second degree burning when a conduit had exploded in the engineering section of his ship. At least the scan showed that yesterday. Today however was different story. He had almost healed which Beverly found peculiar to say the least.

She sedated him and put him on the med table. "Computer, start full body scan." She ordained the computer. A light crossed the body and she moved to the monitor. Immediately, she frowned. There was something very wrong with this Klingon. "Perform a cellular scan."

The result was astonishing. His cells were regeneration at extraordinary rate. There was definitely something wrong. "Computer, perform a sub molecular scans of these cells." A beep signaled it was complete.

"Doctor, what is it?" Lieutenant Nagala asked approaching the monitor.

Beverly's forehead had produced multiple wrinkles depicting her surprise. Lieutenant Nagala noticed several clusters of tiny particles around the cells mending the damaged cellular membranes.

"What are those?"

"Computer, use magnification one thousand of standard scale." Beverly ordered. The image zoomed but it was still insufficient to determine what it was. "Four thousand." The image was clearer now.

"Doctor, are those…?"

"Computer, scan these clusters…" Beverly said again. The computer beeped in response and soon displayed the required information. "That's impossible. They are not organic and yet they are. This makes no sense."

"Could it be a mixture of the two?" Lieutenant Nagala asked. "Computer?"

"Probability of cybernetic components – zero eleven percent," The computer replied earning a dumbfounded expression from both Beverly and Nagala. "Structure of microscopic clusters identified as organic based protoplasmic compound, neural activity one hundred percent of sub standard scale, and a detected unknown energy based compound."

"Clarify on unknown compound," Beverly asked.

"Compound emits a low level radiation."

"What kind of radiation?"

"Insufficient data for accurate diagnostic,"

"Then how do you know it is radiation?" Nagala exclaimed frustrated.

"Affected sub areas demonstrate necrophilic properties."

"It is radiation alright." Beverly agreed. "Computer, at this rate of regeneration, how would it take for the subject to heal?"

"Compiling data," The computer beeped. "Forty hours and fourteen minutes,"

"Extraordinary,"

"Doctor?"

"The subject had second degree burning on over sixty percent of his body." Beverly said. "In forty-eight hours, the burning scale was reduced by almost thirty-six percent and now in two days roughly, the subject will be completely healed."

"This is not normal Klingon physiology."

"No, Lieutenant, it is not." Beverly nodded. She pressed her com badge. "Security to Sickbay."

Enterprise security officers arrived shortly after.

"I want you to keep an eye on this Klingon at all times." Beverly commanded.

"Yes, Doctor," The security officers took position around the Klingon biobed.

"We have to scan the others for these anomalies." Beverly said to Nagala, and they got to work. They found three more Klingons with the same anomaly.

"Doctor, it would be best to put these Klingons in a more secured area." Security officer Penta suggested.

"I agree. Do so!"

Beverly was concerned. Her eyes moved to the other injured. "Lieutenant, we have to be certain it is not restricted to the Klingons and scan everyone in here, including us."

"You think it may be contagious?"

"No, but I want to be on the safe side."

"Of course, Doctor,"

And once again they got to work. She and the lieutenant tested negative of this anomaly but two of the Starfleet officers were positive while the rest was ok.

"We have a problem, Doctor."

"Yes, we do!" Beverly exclaimed. She needed now to perform this test on every crewman onboard and find out how many of these people were aboard.

* * *

She convened first the command crew. They came growling and unhappy.

"Doctor, we have passed our physical already." Commander Riker was the grouchiest of all.

"This is a different test, Commander." Beverly said. "Now, lie down."

Commander Riker shook head but obeyed. The scan light crossed his body and Beverly and Nagala held their breath. The scan was negative. They relaxed.

"Next,"

Captain Picard tested negative as did Commander Worf, Commander Laforge, Lieutenant Crusher, Councilor Troi and Colonel Nerys that just happened to be on the bridge.

"Doctor, what is this about?" Jean-Luc asked.

"I will tell you later. Now, vacate the area. I have more people to scan."

The command crew was about to leave.

"Mr. Data, you too,"

"Doctor, I'm an android…"

"Now, Commander," Beverly said abruptly interrupting his usual speech. She had to be certain of him as well. Data obeyed and his scan was also negative. "Now, you can go."

The scanning took most of the day. The results however were terrifying. Out of one thousand people aboard the ship, over twenty percent tested positive with the anomaly. Every single one of these people has almost never reported to sickbay for any reason. And every single one of them was confined to quarters with force fields erected to keep them in.

Doctor Crusher and Lieutenant Nagala were now in the conference room waiting for the command crew to arrive. They started showing up one after the other.

"Now, will be so kind to tell me why two hundred crewmen are confined to quarters?" Jean-Luc asked.

Beverly cleared her throat. "It started with the routine examination of a Klingon we picked from the Kronos' massacre." She activated the screen and showed the results of the first scans performed on the said Klingon. "As you can see more than sixty percent of his body is burnt due to rapture of a power conduit resulting in explosion in the engineering section of a Klingon bird of prey."

"Ok."

"Forty eight hours later, my scans, meaning today, showed this." The screens changed displaying the new scan. "Over thirty six percent of his body has recovered. A deep sub molecular scan revealed the presence of these clusters of microscopic particles." The image zoomed in. "And in another two days rough he will heal completely. It will be as though he had never been anywhere near an explosion."

"This is hardly possible, Doctor." Commander Data remarked. "Klingon physiology does not have accelerated regenerative properties."

"I am well aware of Klingon physiology, Data." Beverly said. "Having discovered this, I decided to scan the other Klingons. Three more Klingons displayed the same anomaly hence they are confined in a more secured area."

"I see." Jean-Luc said nodding.

"Having said that, I thought it best to test everyone. It could have been, as Lieutenant Nagala suggested, a contagion, even a cross species one."

"But it isn't?"

"No," Beverly shook head. "Lieutenant Nagala and I were the first test subjects. I had to be sure it is confined solely to the Klingons. And I found it in over two hundred crewmen, so naturally I was worried it could be indeed that."

"But?" Jean-Luc asked.

"What is it?" Commander Riker asked.

Beverly bit her lip. She was certain what she was about to say will produce one a heck of a reaction. "I think we are dealing with a new species."

"WHAT?"

"Doctor Crusher, this species of yours doesn't seem to be confined to Klingons only. Are you suggesting their new form is both human, Klingon, Bollian, and whatever? This hardly seems possible." Commander Riker reasoned.

"That's my first thought, Commander, but I don't think so." Beverly shook head. "I performed a DNA scan on every crewman displaying this anomaly. The DNA and RNA scans on the clusters revealed something extraordinary. Now the cross species part comes to mind again but we found subtle differences."

"I'm not sure we are following your thought, Doctor." Jean-Luc stated.

"I know this is going to sound crazy but I believe these clusters are responsible for the construction of all of them."

"Construction? Meaning what?"

"These people, Captain, were not born like you and me they were built cell by cell."

"WHAT?" Jean-Luc was not the only to exclaim loudly this stunning statement.

"Doctor, this is ridiculous." Commander Riker exclaimed. "Are you saying someone built them from scratch? Why didn't we pick on this before?"

"We didn't pick it up because we weren't looking for it and because such a situation has not arisen before. Most of these crewmen have never been to sickbay in all their time they have served aboard the Enterprise other than for their summary physical test."

"But they age, Doctor."

"Well kind of,"

"Kind of? Care to elaborate on this one?"

"Every species displaying this anomaly is very close to each of those species in terms of DNA and RNA sequences but there are differences, subtle but they are present. They have allowed us to formulate what they are. Each of these bodies was built in less than a day. They age as any other species but at a slower rate.

Each distinctive sequence possesses the genetic material of the species they are to become whether human, Klingon, Bollian or any other. It is actually quite fascinating."

"Organic robots – wow!"

"What?" Geordie exclaimed having an epiphany. He suddenly remembered his conversation with Colonel Sheppard and his face became very pale.

"Geordie?" Data turned to his friend seeing his facial colors changing.

"Commander? Is there something you want to add?" Jean-Luc asked having noticed his behavior too.

"Yes, Captain, there is." Geordie replied standing up and walking to the screen. "I can tell you the name of this species."

"You can?" Beverly's eyebrows flew up in surprise.

"Yes, they are the Human Form Replicators." Geordie replied. "Colonel Sheppard said that they have evolved. Before when their organic bodies were built, the bloodstream was flooded with millions of nanites that affected repairs as needed. But all this changed when they found a way to create regenerative cells.

Captain, she said that Starfleet has been infiltrated by these creatures and they have been there for years. Second Security Lieutenant Adrian Mars was one of them."

"I thought you said he died on the desert planet?" Commander Riker looked up remembering Geordie's report.

"I lied." Geordie said. "I wasn't uncertain on how to present this situation."

"And you waited until now to share?"

"Well with all that has happened there wasn't really much time."

"One fifth of the most advanced ship in the Federation is infiltrated, one fifth!" Commander Riker exclaimed.

"Easy now, Number One," Jean-Luc said calmly.

"Captain, if we…if one fifth is here then Gods knows how many are on other ships and posts in Starfleet!"

Jean-Luc remained silent. He clearly realized what this disturbing discovery could mean for the Federation.

"Captain?" Commander Riker raised his voice.

"Number One," Jean-Luc raised his so Commander Riker can calm down. "Commander Laforge was right to wait."

"He was?" Commander Riker exclaimed stunned.

"I was?"

"Yes, there was no way of knowing who many among us could be one of them!"

"Right," Geordie said seeing the truth though he probably did see it but on subconscious level.

"Captain, we have a serious problem then."

"Yes, Number One, we do." Jean-Luc said. "Doctor Crusher, you will perform this test on Admiral Nechev too. We have to be certain she is who she says she is. And then we will see where to go from here."

"Captain, we should probably let Atlantis know about this too. They have more experience with them than we do." Geordie said.

"Yes, we should. You will go personally Geordie. We can't trust the com system."

"Yes, Captain,"

"The rest of you," Jean-Luc said. "Dismissed."

Jean-Luc had much thinking to do. This new reality posed a change of position. How did these things manage to go unnoticed for so long? Some of the crewmen that were confined he knew personally for years. Years, the word resonated in his mind. What were they doing here? What were their goals? Replace every Starfleet officer slowly and take over eventually or what? How many were they in total – hundreds, thousands, millions more?

* * *

The meeting with Atlantis the next day was of different kind. It was not about peace negotiations it was about the Replicators. The fact the Stargate Command knew these things have infiltrated Starfleet was the top topic that created most of the heat in their discussions.

"We demand to know!" Commander Riker exclaimed.

"Demand?" Major Connor McKay raised an eyebrow displaying offense and a dose of mockery.

"Gentlemen please," Colonel Teyla Sheppard stood up raising both of her hands in the air to cool things down before they escalate in physical confrontation. She knew Connor was a hothead and heard as much of Commander Riker. "True, we knew." Exhaling deeply she continued. "We did not share because we had no way of knowing how deep the infiltration is nor what their goals are. I'm sure you can understand this?"

"You could have…"

"Have what?" Major Connor McKay exclaimed mockingly. "Started to pock you with scans? How do you think that would look?"

"He's got a point, Number One." Jean-Luc said nodding at his first officer to sit down.

"Perhaps," Commander Riker said a bit more calmly. "But they could have…"

He did not manage to finish his sentence though. The alert sirens on Atlantis came to life. An officer in blue-green uniform entered hastily the conference room.

"Major McKay, Colonel Sheppard, eight ships just appeared in high orbit. Their design suggests Vulcan Andorian hybrid…"

"COME AGAIN?" Commander Riker exclaimed loudly dumbfounded.

"Their hull design incorporates Vulcan and Andorian design." The officer replied hastily and then added. "We don't have time for this…they have already destroyed four Starfleet vessels with the opening volley…"

Major Connor McKay got on his feet and bolted out followed by Colonel Sheppard and the Enterprise command crew.

"Raise shields!" Major Connor McKay barked.

"Shields, raised," Lieutenant Morn replied.

"Display on screen,"

The screen of Atlantis came to life. The camera showed eight ships with the said Vulcan Andorian threads.

"Scan!"

"Unknown class destroyers," Lieutenant Morn announced. "Shield generator output Level Six…"

"Level Six?" Colonel Sheppard exclaimed throwing a look at Connor.

"I know." Major Connor McKay exclaimed but explained to the Starfleet officers. "It is about six times more powerful than the Enterprise shields."

"Six Times?" Geordie looked at him disbelieving. "That's not possible!"

"Major, their weapons have been augmented."

"How much?"

"Two strikes and a fully shielded Sovereign class ship is a goner, and on the third big boom."

"Where the devils did they get their hands on such powerful weapons?" Colonel Scott exclaimed as she climbed the stairs leading to the control room.

"Teyla, get us up there!" Major Connor McKay said over the com.

"Preignition sequence…"

"Screw that. Activate the wormhole drive."

"Connor, the drive cannot be used on such short distance."

"Teyla, we have to get up there quickly otherwise there will not be much left."

"I know."

* * *

Atlantis' engines roared and the city took off. It quickly arrived in orbit. The sight was not pretty. The four ships assigned to defend Earth from the SGC were already debris. Every Starfleet vessels was destroyed apart the Enterprise.

"Major, they are hailing."

"On screen,"

The screen activated and the Starfleet staff gaped in disbelief. Admiral Benson was staring from the other side.

"So you've sided with the enemy?" He said turning to Jean-Luc and crew. "Too bad…Iron Fist three, you are clear to engage the Enterprise."

"ADMIRAL!" Jean-Luc shouted completely forgetting the polite etiquette. "The Enterprise is here to conduct peaceful negotiations. We have not sided with them. We are loyal to Starfleet and the Federation."

"If you were, Captain, the moment you have arrived you would have opened fire on these terrorists but you didn't."

"We are her on diplomatic mission for Starfleet."

"Starfleet, Captain, did not authorize negotiations with them."

"Admiral Nechev…"

"Is no longer an Admiral." Admiral Benson interrupted. "She's been stripped of that title when she and several other admirals committed treason towards the Federation. Starfleet has not authorized these negotiations. She acted without approval."

"Admiral, there are other ways to deal with this situation. Federation charter stipulates…"

"Enough games, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Renegade USS Enterprise," The admiral's voice thundered. "You have been found guilty of treasonous acts against the Federation and Section 31…"

"SECTION 31?" Commander Worf exclaimed stunned.

"Yes, the new Starfleet," Admiral Benson smiled sinisterly. "Iron Fist three, destroy that vessel."

"Yes, Grand Admiral," A voice from the com system on that ship replied.

"Move us between them and the Enterprise!" Major Connor McKay commanded frantically.

Atlantis' powerful sublight engines managed to reach the Enterprise before the new class destroyers of the Iron Fist.

"Order your ship to enter the shield!" Major Connor McKay turned to Jean-Luc. "Before it is too late."

"We need your shield specifications." Geordie replied.

"Here!" Major Connor McKay handed him a pad. Geordie took it and activated his com badge only to discover it was not working.

"They are jamming us." He exclaimed.

"Damn it!"

Colonel Teyla Sheppard focused her mind on summoning the ancient drones. A wave of yellow torpedoes left the armory of Atlantis, ventured out of the shields and flew straight ahead to the new class destroyers.

Atlantis shook as the new weapons of the enemy struck its shields. The eight destroyers seeing they won't reach Enterprise in time focused their attack on the city. Their combined strength put a strain on the city's shields.

"Damn it!" Major Connor McKay exclaimed. "These things punch a lot of power."

"But the shields will hold?" Geordie asked.

"Oh that they will, hopefully," Major Connor McKay replied frantically making calculations and quickly started to frown. "These new beams are ten times more powerful than your phasers." He announced.

"What?" Geordie murmured. "How long can the city last?"

"I don't think that will matter much!" Major Connor McKay said pointing at the yellow torpedoes headed in the direction of Admiral Benson's new ships. The Ancient drones so far have not let them down.

"Major, another four ships just appeared behind us…" Lieutenant Morn frantically announced.

"Teyla!" Major Connor McKay exclaimed.

"I see them." Colonel Teyla Sheppard replied. "Captain Picard, we have to make your ship understand they have to leave. Connor Morse Code,"

"They won't be listening for it!" Geordie said.

"Damn it! CONNOR!"

"I'm thinking dammit! Commander, will they understand luminous signals?"

"Yes, they would,"

"Quickly before, it is too late."

The new arrivals however headed straight for the Enterprise, which in turn came to face them. Jean-Luc was watching helplessly.

"Can't we simply…"

"I have already thought of that Captain unfortunately something is blocking us and if I had to venture a guess I would say the damn Replicators…"

"Major, all of our transporters have been reported sabotaged…"

"Oh, thank you, I noticed. It was my first thought." Major Connor McKay remarked caustically. "I can only hope Commander Riker gets to the damn shuttle and send the data…"

* * *

Commander William Riker had bolted almost immediately after the Admiral had given the order the second time to the shuttle parked in the hangar bay above the control room. He started the engines and flew out through the retroactive ceiling.

Com signals were still blocked but he had the specifications for the shields transmitted by Geordie. He moved closer to the outer edges of the city facing Enterprise and crossed fingers this would work. He began the luminous signaling and then got to reconfigure the shuttle's shields. Sadly the computer aboard the shuttle was not as quick as that of the Enterprise. A quick look told him, the Enterprise has understood his message as it was moving towards the city.

He also saw three of the enemy ships blow up shortly after the yellow torpedoes overwhelmed their shields and started hoping. The Enterprise was very close now. 'Oh just a bit more, please…' Riker's thoughts said racing as frantically as his heart.

And then out of the blue another four ships emerged and with one focused shot disabled Enterprise's shields.

"NO!" William Riker shouted.

* * *

The next beam touched the Enterprise and in the second to follow rendered it space dust. William Riker stood helplessly and watched horrified as the Enterprise disappeared. And he was not the only one.

"NO!" Jean-Luc fell on his butt.

Tears filled Beverly Crusher's and Dean Troi's eyes. The latter had sensed such hatred streaming from the enemy ships and satisfaction of Enterprise's destruction she had never felt in humans before.

Grand Admiral Benson's fleet then focused all of its power at Atlantis. The accumulative intensity of their fire started to affect the city's shields.

"Major, shields are down ten percent and falling!" Lieutenant Morn informed.

"Connor, we have to withdraw!" Colonel Teyla Sheppard said over the com.

"NO! For crying it loud NO!" Major Connor McKay replied. "Set course for the sun!"

"The sun?" Teyla exclaimed.

"Do it!"

"I hope you know what you are doing!"

"Oh, I know hatred when I see it!" Major Connor McKay replied. "Remember the song..."

"What song?"

"When the wind blows south…"

Colonel Teyla Sheppard laughed. "Give them a solar flare?"

"The sun glows brighter …"

"Yes, sir!" Colonel Teyla replied.

Atlantis sped towards the sun and the Benson's fleet followed them. They did not want to lose them but the damn city was fast, faster than their maximum sublight. They followed nevertheless. Major McKay was right their hatred was great.

* * *

"Do not lose them out of sight!" Grand Admiral Benson barked. He wanted this monstrosity destroyed. It was the base of operations for this Stargate Command and he wanted it gone. Revenge over the lost ships was the other motivator.

Atlantis reached the sun and the city plummeted into the sun's coronosphere. Strange triangular collectors appeared underneath the star drive of the city and began soaking the solar radiation.

"We are on!" Colonel Teyla Sheppard informed.

"Excellent," Major Connor McKay exclaimed. "Redirect the ZPM power towards the gravity emitter."

"Yes, sir,"

Jean-Luc and crew observed stunned the speed and diligence with which the crew of the city executed the new orders. The city display showed the city had switched from their power source power to sun power while the power source was used to power this gravity emitter that they wondered what it is.

In mere minutes, the gravity emitter was online. Meanwhile the enemy ships caught up and opened fire but surprisingly the city shields were not even scraped.

"You know Connor this could have bad ramifications for the Solar system." Teyla Sheppard shared over the com.

"You prefer they destroy us as well?" Connor McKay replied while tapping on his pad with extraordinary speed.

"We could have jumped."

"And leave Earth to that maniac, I don't think so!" Connor McKay said. "Besides, I can minimize the risk!"

"I hope so. The last time…"

"Last time…last time. The system was uninhabited and it was a test."

"May I ask what you are doing?" Jean-Luc asked.

"You will see!"

* * *

Meanwhile, aboard Iron Fist 1, Grand Admiral Benson was becoming impatient.

"Increase fire rate!" He commanded frantically.

"Their shields are holding."

"Hence – increase fire rate," He blurted out starting to lose control.

"Admiral, we are picking up increased gravitational emissions from the sun!" One of the officers on the bridge announced.

"What?"

"They are firing some kind of beam to the sun's surface." The reply was.

"Show me!" Grand Admiral Benson's expression changed quickly now displaying concern.

The figures showed onto the monitor. His eyebrows flew up in surprise and genuine fear.

"These crazy bastards," He exclaimed. "JUMP TO WARP IMMEDIATELY!"

"Destination?"

"DOESN'T MATTER, JUMP!"

His helm officer did not wait to be told twice. The nacelles of the new ship contracted and they jumped to warp and not a moment too soon. Suddenly a wave of fire emerged from the sun's surface. It resembled much a coronal mass ejection but on a larger scale.

The other destroyer class ships noticed it but really did not have time to react as they had come too close to Atlantis to increase the effectiveness of their new weapon and were caught unprepared for this development. The sun ejection bypassed the city's shields and incinerated them in mere seconds.

"Prepare for jump!" Colonel Teyla Sheppard announced.

Atlantis jumped to hyperspace for a moment and then emerged back to normal space standing right in the path of the corona mass ejection. The powerful circular jet stream hurled itself into the city's shields and separated in different directions.

"Connor, I hope your calculations aren't wrong."

"Major, it will pass on safe distance." Lieutenant Morn informed.

"Phew!" Major Connor McKay wiped his forehead of the sweat that had accumulated. "That's close!"

"Don't do it again!" Colonel Teyla Sheppard said.

"Time to see the damage these bastards caused." Major Connor McKay said.

"Yes," Colonel Teyla Sheppard said and set a course back to Earth at maximum sublight.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	10. Elected by the people for the people…

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past. A secret so dangerous, that it threatens to divide the Earth in two and reshape the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Elected by the people for the people…**

The news of Starfleet Command's attack on the city of legends - Atlantis spread like fire on Earth. The fragile balance that Colonel Sheppard and Stargate Command had managed to establish ever since they took Starfleet Headquarters by force was now in shambles. Public opinion had gone down the drain. Sides were drawn. Tension was escalating with uncontrollable speed.

Starfleet Command was in total disarray. If before they were in disarray now it was absolute anarchy. The Federation council shared the same fate caused by the sudden appearance of sixteen class destroyer ships of Vulcan and Andorian design mounted with the terrifying Xindi weapon that once ago threaten to destroy the Earth.

Xenophobic groups popped again and their propaganda pamphlets covered the streets of every major city on Earth. Dozens of embassies bombed hundreds of aliens killed in the uproar riots that followed. The most popular group was once more Terra Prime. They spread the word that their true savior Grand Admiral Benson has delivered them from the lies of the Federation and Stargate Command.

Supporting their claims they showed the public the destruction of eight Starfleet vessels, six that had openly joined Stargate Command and were destroyed in the first volley. And then the other two the USS Crazy Horse, command ship of the disgraced Admiral Nechev and the most advanced ship in Starfleet USS Enterprise, along four of Stargate Command's ships – USS Triple Star, CSRS San Tzu, HMS Dauntless and Valliant. Each of the latter had survived the first eight shots before falling.

The mighty city of Atlantis however with its terrible weapons had managed to destroy six of the sixteen vessels before diving into the sun and unleashing a terrible wave of coronal mass ejection that could have easily wiped out all life in the Solar System. Only the ship of Grand Admiral Benson had survived the onslaught. Of course, they were conveniently omitting the part of Atlantis saving the solar system from the dangerous wave they had unleashed.

* * *

Stargate Command consolidated its forces at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado Springs protecting it with a massive shield grid spread on over four hundred kilometers. Inside, many of their ground troops had gathered. Twelve more ships baring the insignia of the Young Alliance had arrived in orbit and faced the ships gathered by Terra Prime, comprised of twelve Iron Birds class cruisers and two Iron Fist class destroyers.

Jean-Luc and Beverly were given quarters on the premises of the old Stargate Command base inside Cheyenne Mountains. They were both still mourning the loss of their ship and crew. Commanders Laforge and Data shared quarters just a few doors away, Deana Troi and William Riker a floor beneath and close by Commander Worf and Lieutenant Crusher.

Jean-Luc had become very silent and very distant, coldly so. This loss was affecting him most. After he had pleaded with the self appointed Grand Admiral he had witness the destruction of his beloved ship helplessly. He did not blame the staff of Atlantis though. He knew they did everything in their power to prevent it.

His thoughts dwelled in the Xindi weapon. He wondered possibly for the nth time why the Vulcans and the Andorians, which were among the first members of the Federation, betrayed their trust like this. A more reasonable thought and explanation was that they were building this fleet to combat the Dominion but it still did not explain why they had handed it to Section 31. Section 31 was responsible for many attempts to destroy peace throughout Federation history.

One of their first appearances was at the time of Captain Jonathan Archer when they handed to the Klingon Empire the keys to the Augments. Then they reappeared when the Klingon Empire was dying and almost instigated a war between the Federation and the Empire. Only the diligence of James Kirk and the crew of the Excelsior managed to prevent it. And this was just the beginning. The Enterprise had dealt with them on many occasions as did the crew of DS9.

Speaking of DS9, Jean-Luc felt more sadness. The severely pissed Grand Admiral Benson after losing the battle with Atlantis had headed to DS9 and without any provocation had destroyed the USS Defiant and its crew, and then he had turned on Bajor. Numerous temples were leveled. The death toll was in the thousands.

DS9 though Bajoran space station had fallen to Section 31, the new Starfleet and thus Keiko O'Brien and her young daughter, Ensign Nog and his father Rom, Jake Sisko, Captain Kasidy Yates, and many Starfleet and Bajor Militia officers were killed in the ensued fights aboard. Chief O'Brien, Dr. Julian Bashir, Quark, Lieutenant Ezri Dax, Colonel Nerys and Captain Sisko left with no choice succeeded in fleeing the station using a Ferengi ship transporting when the Grand Nagus Zek and his wife Ishka. They were on route to the Ferengi home world.

'Yes,' Jean-Luc exhaled deeply. 'Much suffering had Section 31 brought'. He kept muttering such phrases under breath. The Xindi, the Xindi weapon, how did they get their hands on it? It was a question he could not stop asking himself night and day. Why did the Andorians and Vulcans keep it a secret for this long? They could have helped when the Borg invaded but no they kept their silence. Why? Were they afraid or overly arrogant as usual? But there were no answers immediate or easy.

* * *

"Jean-Luc," Beverly called him softly but he ignored her. He has done that lately and she was here only to help him through this difficult time. It was not the first time they lost people but this time it was different, much different. They didn't just lose a few people they lost the entire ship – over a thousand faithful Starfleet officers. Major Mayborne and Admiral Ross's son were among the losses.

'Section 31' Jean-Luc muttered silently again under breath and his flashed with anger. They should have gotten rid of them a long time ago. He should have pursued them after the Pegasus incident but no he let Starfleet Command deal with them softly. Well, now, here was the result – ruins and shambles. Earth was standing on the threshold of war, once again.

Jean-Luc turned in his bed his eyes fixed blankly into the ceiling. Questions will make a good lead. He snorted. Yeah, right, he should have learnt by now never to trust the Q again. Speaking of them he still wondered that too. Why the Q did not use their so-called omnipotent powers to deal with this new threat? They did use it quite often to terrorize them so why not now.

He sensed Beverly leaving their quarters as the door shut. The quarters were not the Ritz but then again he could not have possibly expected them to be either. It was a former military base after all. His thoughts moved to his hosts. Descendants of the Stargate Command, they have come across the galaxies to stop the deadliest enemies of the galaxy from taking over and protect the Earth. Protect the Earth, how ironic it sounded now as they were close to destroying each other.

* * *

Signing, he sat up. Sleeping was out of the question. His mind was far too occupied with the past events for him to have a decent night sleep anyway. He feared closing his eyes will lead only to nightmares showing that horrid picture of his beloved Enterprise flickering out of existence and hearing the screams of terror from his burning crew. He slammed his fist into the bed. Grand Admiral, he was going to pay for this. He has made an enemy of him now.

Starfleet had no policy that covered sufficiently Jean-Luc's desire for vengeance. And that's what he wanted now – vengeance. It was consuming him like a dark fire burning through his veins. He stood up with ice-cold determination in his eyes and straightened his uniform. He walked to the door and pressed the handle open. Outside, there was one guard in his blue-green uniform. He saluted promptly. It was something Jean-Luc could never get used to that's why he only nodded at him and then he closed the door.

He made his way down the corridor nodding at places where he would meet some soldier or Starfleet officer. He reached the elevator. Inputting his personal code, the elevator door opened. He only wished it could respond to voice command however the facility was three centuries old and didn't get this upgrade. He pressed the button for the floor. The elevator started descending.

* * *

It stopped at the desired stop. The doors opened and he ventured out. The corridor was almost the same as the one he left. He often wondered how the people of the twenty-first century ever managed to find their way around this place. The only subtle difference was painted on the wall saying the level's number. He turned right then left, climbed the stairs and was on the gate control room level.

It still had computers from the twenty twelve time with keyboards and mice. There were no tactile screens other than one that operated the strange thing Colonel Sheppard called IRIS control. Apparently, it was the only way to block unannounced incoming travelers. It placed trinium titanium overlapping plates in a circle like an actual iris a few micrometers before the event horizon thus any particles incoming would not have the time to rematerialize. When he understood the concept it was actually pretty ingenious.

He did not stay there though. He climbed up the stairs and reached the briefing room. Actually he understood why the commanding general of the time, a General George Hammond liked it so much. The wall of windows looked out over the Stargate Room three stories high at the far end of which the huge shape, flat and round like a pancake set on end, focused his eye. A shallow steel grid ramp led up to the disk, which consisted of two concentric rings inscribed with alien symbols, surrounding a gleaming iris of overlapping steel plates that completely covered the centre. Ramp and disk were set off from the rest of the room by a wide painted border of yellow and black stripes alternating with the legend _KEEP CLEAR_.

The briefing room contained one long rectangular table with chairs around it that were now occupied by Starfleet and Stargate staff. There were many pads and piles of paper covering the table surface. Each was taking and pointing at something. Near the wall of windows there was a plastic vertical glass with the galactic star chart. Each important sector and planet carried its name. At first getting used to their designations was simply a horrid experience – P3W264 and etc. Why couldn't they simply name things? It made everything far simpler.

* * *

He looked to the side where there was another door. It led to the office of the base commander. He liked it the first day he saw it. It was much the same on the Alpha Site: oak desk with comfy leather chair, the flag of the USA behind it, and the insignia of the USAF, two chairs before the desk and another door leading into the adjacent corridor.

He ventured in and found Colonel Teyla Sheppard talking to Major General David Hammond, proud descendant of the famous general, and Brigadier General Charles O'Neill, two lls as he pointed out the first time they met. The latter was a strange bird. According to the Colonel he had inherited all the traits of his forefather Jack O'Neill and was just as annoying. There was another person in that he remembered as Admiral Heather Lam, head of medical Research and Development at Starfleet Command.

"Ah, Captain Picard," Colonel Sheppard greeted and moved to him. She seemed perfectly relieved to see him or perhaps it was just the perfect excuse to get away from the others. "It is good to see you."

"Likewise, Colonel," Jean-Luc replied and actually surprised himself. His voice was firm, cold and determined. "I hoped we can go over the battle plan." His new determination had the desired effect. It made people pay attention to him. The generals stopped talking and looked at him. "No time to waste, Gentlemen. It is payback time."

"I couldn't agree more." Admiral Lam said with a devilish smile dancing on her lips. She was finding the lack of action a sign of laziness and weakness. She took Jean-Luc by the arm and moved to the briefing room. "Attention!"

All talks stopped and everyone's eyes turned to them.

"As my esteemed colleague pointed out, there is no time to waste." Admiral Lam began. "We cannot let our enemies consolidate their base. We have to strike now."

"If it were that simple, Admiral Lam, we would have done so." General Hammond said coming from the office behind. "But our actions have consequences and we must consider those. Terra Prime has made sure that public opinion plays a role now. Every time we make a wrong choice they use it to their advantage. And we can't afford those. A preemptive strike will only make things worse."

"You know, David, you may carry his name but not his back!" Admiral Lam countered with ice-cold voice. "We do not negotiate with terrorists."

"And in the eyes of the people, we are the terrorists." David reciprocated with the same coldness.

"The people?" Admiral Lam snickered. "Since when do we pay attention to the sheep masses?"

David swallowed hard and he glared at her mounting a response but Major McKay stepped between them with raised hands.

"Enough! Both of you!" He said raising his voice. "Bickering among ourselves solves nothing! The fact is they made a move and played us for fools! And we let them!"

"Connor is right." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said. "We need to consolidate our position. We need to show the people that they made the wrong choice. This is a different battleground and a different game. It is far more difficult than simple combat. And for that we need a strong diplomat."

"Once the people see who their so-called leader really is they will make the right choice." Connor said. "But we can't force it. We tried that already and the result backfired in our faces."

"We just managed to show a rapport with the people." Teyla continued. "But ships carrying the Xindi weapon changed all that. And in an instant, all we have done vanished. Poof. Caput – gone!"

"Fellas." Brigadier General Charles O'Neill stepped in too. "We can sit and talk all day it is not going to change anything. We are stuck in here like sardines while we need to be out among these sheep and spread the good word. And you wonder why the terra something is winning?"

Jean-Luc found his argument compelling and quite true. They trenched themselves into the mountain instead of into the lion's mouth. But he still thought the man was odd. He was practically bouncing around, his energy levels too high. It was obvious the man wanted action instead of this paralyzed state of diplomatic shit jam.

* * *

Far away, on the Klingon Home planet, in the sacred halls on the throne, the dark lord Anubis stood admiring his new subjects – the tall and mighty Klingons. They thought he was this feeble Kahless. He had nothing against that. True, the historical figure in their culture was a wise ruler and a man of great honor that has inspired generations and for that Anubis found him useful to his agenda.

The Klingons spent the past few weeks training with his new guard warriors that he had called Avidans. In old Goa'uld it translated as Gods are just. Anubis found it befitting name for his new loyal servants.

The Klingons were simply perfect. They absorbed the training better than even the Jaffa before them. With their diverse weaponry and even their own martial style, they were about to become a formidable force, the new Jaffa.

"Chel hol onak Anubis!" Anubis First Prime Aken said kneeling before his god.

"Kel shak?" Anubis asked peering down at his Prime.

"The Tauri have begun fighting one another." Aken replied.

"It is hardly surprising."

"It presents a curious opportunity, milord."

"Indeed it does." Anubis agreed but it was not part of his plan. "But not yet."

"Milord?"

"The Tauri will be last to fall." Anubis said. "When I have conquered the rest of this wretched galaxy then their time shall come, not before."

"As you wish, milord,"

"Shal kek, Aken!" Anubis said and Aken bowed again to his master and left.

* * *

It was indeed no surprise that the humans had started fighting one another. Anubis had foreseen this much. But their time will come later. He had other plans and the fight between humans, he welcomed actually. At least they will stay out of his way until it becomes too late to stop him.

"Milord Anubis!"

Anubis looked down. It was the Klingon Chancellor Gowron. He was already wearing the new attire – black with silver plates, like the Jaffa before. He knelt before him. Anubis let him standing in this position for some time before he acknowledged his presence.

"Arise!"

* * *

Chancellor Gowron stood up. His eyes turned toward his new master. Master, the word resonated in his mind. It was a new concept and it was going sometimes against every fiber of his being. The Klingons were a proud race and did not acknowledge any masters but this one man before him was different. He embodied the spirit of Kahless, the bravest and best warrior of Klingon culture and history.

And of course there was the part where his troops were superior to the Klingons. They had shown it in battle. And he, their master, was much stronger than any man, than any creature the Klingons have ever met. Their master had powers, maybe not as impressive like those of the Q but close enough.

The last few weeks, the Klingon warriors had spent their time learning the new ways their master was teaching them. They were becoming even more powerful than before and soon no race would be able to resist them for long.

"Milord," Chancellor Gowron said. "We are grateful of the ways of the Goa'uld but…"

"But?" Anubis raised an eyebrow.

"Many, well most of our war ships have been destroyed in the war with the Dominion and the encounter with your forces…"

Anubis had raised a hand interrupting him. He knew of course the Klingons will not be satisfied only with learning new combat techniques. He expected this request earlier but apparently they were not feeling comfortable asking until now.

"I'm well aware of your losses, Chancellor." Anubis said.

"I did not mean to imply you weren't." Chancellor Gowron stepped back bowing his head.

"Your concern is noted, Chancellor." Anubis remarked. "I cannot have my new guards with no means to spread the word of their god but not yet. Your training is incomplete. Once, my Avidans confirm you are ready then we shall take care of this minor setback."

"Of course, milord," Chancellor Gowron said.

"In the meantime, my Ha'Tak will protect your shipments and Quo'nos."

"Thank you, milord,"

"Shal kek, Gowron."

Gowron bowed again and left the room. Anubis eyed him for a while before resuming his thinking. These Klingons were a formidable force. He planned to introduce them to their predecessors – the Jaffa. It would be their last test – overwhelm the feeble Jaffa and then receive their Prim'ta.

* * *

Somewhere in the Vulcan system, on one of the smaller outer planets, Section 31 had established a new base. Their presence on the Vulcan home world has become dangerous, unnecessarily so.

Grand Admiral Benson had chosen this planet not only for base operations but also it was a place for the shipyards. They were working overtime producing the new destroyer class ships. He needed bigger and more powerful ships. Stargate Command had to pay for his recent losses – twelve ships. He did not think it possible these Stargate Command ships will even survive his attack. But it took close to eight shots to put their shields down and a few more to destroy them.

The only good thing he had during that encounter was the element of surprise but he doubted he would be able to repeat this feat. He had hoped the first attack would be the only one but he had been mistaken. Their ships had proven far more resilient than he had anticipated. No matter, it was something he was going to correct soon enough.

"Admiral,"

"Go ahead,"

"We are receiving a communication from the leader of Terra Prime."

"Patch him through,"

Admiral Benson sat on his chair behind the desk and activated the screen. The leader of the xenophobic group has been instrumental in the division of opinion back home but he still found him arrogant and presumptuous. He still had not learnt that there is a proper way of addressing an admiral of his stature.

"Benson,"

Admiral Benson closed his eyes controlling his quickly boiling emotions and exhaling slowly opened them.

"Speak!"

"I'm giving it another week and then Earth will belong once more to Earthers."

"They are all of Earth, Mister Lacer." Admiral Benson rolled eyes displaying his annoyance.

"I meant…"

"I know what you meant." Admiral Benson interrupted with an annoyed voice. "How certain of this plan are you?"

"Very,"

"How reassuring all this sounds!" Admiral Benson mocked. "And I don't suppose you think the other side is simply going to roll over?"

"They will have no other choice but submit to Terra Prime's rule." Lacer responded. "The people are on our side…"

"The people – really?" Admiral Benson said and then exploded. "Are you that naïve or you're just playing stupid?"

"Benson?"

"Admiral Benson," Admiral Benson thundered. "Only be force, this conflict will be resolved. Only when you apprehend and kill them all will this end. There is no other way!"

"Benson," Lacer began saying but seeing the admiral's growing anger continued more politely. "Admiral, an armed conflict can ignite in ways we cannot control. We let the civilians be hit and we will have a war on our hands well beyond our control. For now, the conglomerations are calm and public opinion is on our side. But if we push too hard it will blow in our faces."

"Then let it blow, you moron. It will show beyond any shadow of a doubt who's been right and who's been wrong."

"Admiral, I hope you don't mean this. I can see you are agitated now."

"Are you saying I'm not thinking clearly?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I am saying."

"In that case, we are already at war and we need to press our advantage."

"Admiral, you may make a decent soldier but you know nothing of politics. It doesn't work like that. Anymore armed conflicts and the Earth will ignite in a state of planetary war and if memory serves it will the forth. The last global war led to five hundred million dead. Last time we were alone this time however we are not. The other major powers may decide to hop in and take over and I'm not very keen on this idea."

"The other major powers as you so eloquently put it are too busy leaking their wounds. They are no threat to us." Admiral Benson said calming his breath. "Stargate Command and their friends must be eliminated and then the public opinion will be easier to control. Get on with it or I'll find someone else able of following a simple order."

Admiral Benson severed the link. This civilian brat was starting to get on his nerves. His overly cautious approach was maddening. Forth world war – what a ridiculous notion, the humans weren't that stupid. Public opinion, ha!

* * *

But the admiral was wrong public opinion mattered a great deal. Terra Prime's continuous effort to undermine the credibility of Stargate Command was creating an ever-growing fissure of trust. The conglomerations representing the continents on the Earth did not play usually a large part in the politics of Starfleet and the Federation but with these new threats and the war with the Dominion this was changing quickly.

The recent discovery of Earth's veiled past was placing new perspectives on the diplomatic table. The troubles of the last war were starting to reemerge. There were still people who remembered the reasons it had started. The conditions back then were somewhat different but it was getting there. And the new Starfleet Xindi weaponized ships was not helping. The last time a Xindi weapon came to Earth it carved a four thousand mile long line from Florida to Venezuela. No one wanted to be reminded of that.

Public opinion was skyrocketing in the wrong direction. The people felt safe no more. They started understanding the Maquis better now: with the constant threat of war and possibility for one to lose its home fear was running high. Earth was a safe haven no more. Starfleet could protect them no more and the Federation's council was in disarray. Some said it was good run for as long as it lasted.

The conglomerations gathered and decided in the coming months to cede their seat from the Federation. It was pointless to be part of something that functioned no more. Earth was to stand on its own from now on. Starfleet on Earth was disbanded and a new body was to be created to represent Earth in all matters.

Admiral Benson did not like this development and he tried to argue it but achieved nothing and he was forced to leave Earth. Section 31, the new Starfleet had now no home other than the bases it had established off world. Stargate Command for his great dismay was still there as the conglomerations have not decided what to do with them. It seemed that on the political battleground they were way better than Mr. Lacer.

Admiral Benson however was not ready to declare this war a lost cause yet. Section 31 had managed to build more ships. It had now a fleet of twenty four destroyers and almost that many cruisers. Most ships had crews but they were not Starfleet. They had to be trained and the months were passing by. The admiral's patience was tested. Some of those who were once part of Starfleet he recruited but he was still short of people, experienced people.

The other major powers were major no more as new ones were emerging. The Klingon Empire fought with what was left of the Romulan and conquered it completely. They annexed their territory. All reports were saying that the Klingons had grown stronger than ever before. They were also more organized and their tactics were scarier. Admiral Benson did not enjoy that report. He had hoped the Romulans will survive but he was wrong. The leftovers of the Romulans retreated to Vulcan to seek sanctuary and received it.

The Cardassians were no more too. The leftovers of their empire retreated to remote section of their territory and remained there under a new government structure, provisional but still legitimate. The only major power left intact was the Ferenghi alliance. The smaller powers were left alone but the admiral suspected not for long. The new leader of the Klingons, a human named Anubis and one that scared his spies a great deal had apparently other plans.

"Mr. Lacer, your plan failed miserably." Admiral Benson uttered one day on Section 31's primary base.

"I warned you not to push too much." Lacer countered. "Public opinion on Earth matters a great deal. It decides practically everything."

"And how do you plan to rectify this mess?"

Lacer tilted his head on the side and shrugged. "Frankly I have no idea. The conglomerations have taken absolute control. They will not be swayed by my words or yours however it would seem we are returning to a previous state of politics."

"And that helps us how?"

"They will be more susceptible to corruption. Monetary values are also returning and this presents an opportunity." Lacer replied.

"And how many years are we talking about ten, twenty or fifty?"

"Look, Admiral, I told you politics run in a different way than military actions. There is still some hope that they will return to the Federation. Now whether Starfleet will be trusted to run Earth again or not now this is a different question and one I cannot answer. But if you ask me I doubt you will be part of it. Your aggressive approach will be not accepted. It was not the way of Starfleet."

"We will see." Admiral Benson said relocating from his chair to the sofa. "As long as Stargate Command is out of the picture…"

"I know you have trouble with them but the conglomerations do like them better than you."

"Then we have to change their opinion in the matter."

"It is easier said than done."

"Not really,"

Lacer shook head. The admiral was going through the motions. Public opinion had started to favor Stargate Command again. Brigadier General Charles O'Neill and Dr. Elizabeth Weir were skilled diplomats and their negotiation skills have changed everything. Admiral Benson on the other hand was standing in his base hiding. He was not among the people and had no way of swaying their opinion.

"Admiral, if you want to make any impact you will have to face the music and go to Earth."

"I was already there and they kicked me out."

"That was months ago and in the heat of things. The time may have come for you to try again."

"As you said, I am a soldier not a politician."

"True," Lacer said. "But you are still a Starfleet admiral and this still count for something."

"I will give it a thought."

Lacer shook head again but nodded at the admiral and left him alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Section 31's fleet emerged from the subspace corridor in high orbit. There were no ships to greet them as most of Starfleet ships have been decommissioned. The only ships so to speak were runabouts. They were six representing the conglomerations. The grand admiral could blow them out of the sky with a single shot at minimum yield.

The Berserker, the grand admiral's flagship, proceeded to the designated landing zone just outside San Francisco. There was an escort of honorary guards. They stood on both sides of the grand admiral and his command staff and led to the Hall of Converse. Each conglomeration had sent a representative to listen to the admiral's plea.

The Hall was the standard type of parliament setting – oval with many that were now mostly empty. The admiral and his staff were placed near the center whilst the conglomerations sat on higher. The presiding speaker of the Hall stepped forward.

"This session of the People and Section 31 is coming to order. Admiral Benson, representing Starfleet, shall come forth." The speaker announced.

Lacer winked and raised two thumbs up for encouragement. Grand Admiral Benson exhaled part of his frustration. He was as he said a soldier not a politician but if he wanted his world back he had to play ball.

"Honorable representatives of Earth's conglomerations, Mister Speaker, honorable delegates, I am Devlin Benson. I hold the post of Admiral in Starfleet, the elected body for matters of Earth and representation of the planet on the galactic table of politics." The grand admiral noticed the thumbs up from Lacer and frowned slightly. He was still an insufferable brat. "We find ourselves at crossroads ever since the unannounced arrival of a part of our past that seems to have escaped the annals of history – Stargate Command. Stargate Command was a top-secret program of the USAF, hidden from the people while audaciously and presumptuously representing the planet in interstellar matters."

The grand admiral paused to make sure his words take the expected effect. His words had a lot of merit. Secrecy while necessary sometimes was widely unaccepted these days. Of course the admiral was conveniently omitting the reasons for that.

"They came unannounced bringing with them doom for us all. Their enemies of past came to plague our galaxy and caused unimaginable suffering. The Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire and the Cardassian Empire are in complete ruin and disarray. Most worlds of the Federation share the same fate.

Their arrival caused an unprecedented division in the ranks of Starfleet duly elected body of governance and greater divisions in the people of Earth precipitating the latter from leaving the United Federation of Planets that they helped create in the first place. We are at disarray not trusting one another.

What would the father of the Federation think? What would Jonathan Archer have to say today if he could see us? I will tell you what he would say. He would say we have strayed from the path. We have strayed from the countless hours spent to build the Federation. Yes, the Federation is our baby. We created it for exploration, peace and harmony for all species.

Well gentlemen, we can safely we failed. The Federation was presented with a challenge and for the first time in over three hundred years we failed, miserably. Yes, we have faced many dangers, many disasters and many problems but we have always upheld the values of the human race and the basis that is the building block of the Federation. Today, we failed. We failed in the simple task of maintaining our values.

New empires are going to emerge as the galaxy is adapting to the forced changes. But where will Earth stand? Will it stand alone? We tried that once and we ended in third world war with five hundred million dead. Are we going to repeat history again and plunge this world into another war? ARE WE?"

There was silence after the first part of the admiral's speech. He was not done yet but he had to wait for his words to take roots in the minds of the people before him.

"Honorable representatives of Earth's conglomerations, we stand at a brink of great changes and great danger. We cannot allow to be divided in such moment. We cannot afford it for the price will be too big…"

The Euro-Asian representative stood up and interrupted the admiral's speech. He was a man in his mid thirties with vivid bright green eyes. His unusual attire had attracted everyone's attention in the beginning – black raincoat with embroidered red black roses on the sleeves and the back.

"Grand Admiral Benson," He said with melodic, enchanting voice. "I have to give credit to whoever wrote your speech. It is brilliant and it would have been very convincing if you actually meant any of it."

"I mean all of it." Grand Admiral Benson replied.

The representative's eyes narrowed. "I really wished I could believe that really but I can't afford it. In the midst of the mess in which the galaxy found itself, you emerged from a secretly constructed subspace corridor in Earth's high orbit with ships mounted with a piece of technology that nearly caused the destruction of Earth in the twenty-second century.

The wave of xenophobia this weapon created, well, there is really no description. This weapon came from Earth's most trusted allies – the Andorians and the Vulcans. We really want to believe that they built it for the war with the Dominion but common sense says otherwise.

I'm sorry Grand Admiral of Section 31 but Earth cannot afford to trust you or the Federation again…"

"We can…"

"ENOUGH!" The representative's voice thundered. "Your first act, Grand Admiral, was to destroy twenty-four Starfleet ships – no hails, no conditions. You just opened fire." The other representatives moved uncomfortably. "When your ships were defeated you headed for Deep Space Nine. There you opened fire at the USS Defiant without any form of provocation and then you turned on a peaceful world that still trying to rebuild from the damages of two wars – the Kardassian invasion and the Dominion war.

The level of destruction your ship caused is probably irreversible. Of course, destroyed homes can be rebuilt but lives can't. Do you know how many Bajorans died in your little tantrum? DO YOU?" The representative's eyes were flashing and his facial expression of disgust was saying the rest. "You are trying to convince us that it is still viable for the Federation to exist and while on this point we do agree we also agree that Starfleet is so bloody corrupt it can no longer represent Earth in any matter.

And secondly Admiral, Section 31 is not Starfleet. It had been created in the first days of the Coalition to provide security in places inaccessible by official channels. However when the Federation was created, Section 31 was replaced by Starfleet Intelligence. This happened for a reason. And while this body recognizes the value and contribution of Section 31's actions during the past 3 centuries, we do not approve of their methods. They are in direct violation of the Federation's charter."

"With all due respect, this is not about Section 31." The grand admiral said attempting to divert the conversation's direction. "This is about the disarray caused by…"

"Enough!" The representative brought silence with a single wave of his hand. "I know exactly what this is about. Starfleet under your command got scarred. I suppose you couldn't swallow a handful of people from the forgotten annals of our history rewrote it with acts of bravery that outshone Starfleet in every aspect.

Starfleet has been tested many times but never against its own people and when it came to it Starfleet failed unable to solve a mystery three and half centuries old, unable to accept that a handful of people have seen more of the galaxy than anyone could have predicted, unable to…" The representative sighed closing his eyes for a moment. "We have seen what these people have done, Admiral, and I can safely say this Starfleet in their place would have never reached that far. These people, Admiral, are heroes and something Starfleet ceased to be a long time ago – explorers.

They came back from another galaxy, another GALAXY, Admiral, to once again protect their home, Planet Earth. And how were they greeted? They were greeted with phasers. It is safe to say, Admiral that the only reason you are here is to make sure they are erased from existence.

But I can assure you, the conglomerations are not going to repeat your mistake and that of the Federation. The lost children of Earth have come home and we are going to embrace them with open arms. The people of the Earth have evolved Admiral. We have learnt to embrace the unknown not reject it at first sign of trouble. It is the base principle of the Federation, to embrace all differences and so it shall be.

Mister Lacer, Terra Prime is no longer welcomed on Earth. You can take your supporters and leave in peace. You have chosen to support Section 31 and while this is your prerogative the conglomerations find our presence offensive not to mention highly aggressive and against the interests of Earth.

As for the fine subtleties Admiral, Starfleet has deviated from its original design. This body of governance was elected by the people for the people. That is the core principle of Starfleet to make sure it represents the best interests of Earth and its people. Over the centuries, I suppose we kind of forgot that – not anymore.

Grand Admiral Benson, it is the decision of the conglomerations that Section 31 is hereby banned for life from Earth. You can make your exile anywhere you wish but neither you nor your hybrid ships have any place on it ever again.

This session of the People versus Section 31 is hereby dismissed."

* * *

The representative turned around without even looking and walked away. It reminded the admiral of the way the Klingons deal with such situations. This development was definitely not what he expected.

"This is far from over!" Grand Admiral Benson blurted out. "WE ARE NOT DONE!"

There was however no one to answer him. The representatives had already walked through the doors and out. The grand admiral was left alone with Mister Lacer. The former turned to the latter with growing in red cheeks.

"You said this speech was infallible!"

"It was!" Lacer countered with slowly dropping voice. "But his was better."

"We are not simply going to pack and leave."

"Yes, we are."

"I don't think so!" Grand Admiral Benson was off his skin. He was so pissed. He touched his com badge. "Iron Fist fleet, begin attack!"

"WHAT?" Lacer exclaimed wide-eyed. "Are you insane?"

"Understood," A voice replied from the com.

"You planned this all along?" Lacer stared at the admiral with growing terror.

"You really didn't think I had come to surrender. I told you Section 31 are going to rule one way or another." Grand Admiral Benson replied his eyes flashing with anger bolts. "Transport troops to secure all points."

"You are insane. You are plunging the planet in a state of war…"

"I told you before we already are in war!" Grand Admiral Benson said. He took out his phaser and set it's settings to kill. "I hoped this little encounter will change their minds but as you could see they have signed with the enemy. I'm retaking Earth!"

"You are certifiable lunati…" Lacer was saying but did not manage to finish his sentence as the grand admiral pointed his phaser at him and fired killing him instantly.

"And I had enough of you, squealing bookworm!" Grand Admiral Benson said and left the Hall of Converse.

World War Four has begun…

* * *

**To be continued…**

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	11. World War IV

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past. A secret so dangerous, that it threatens to divide the Earth in two and reshape the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**World War IV**

Section 31's invasion forces appeared on the streets of San Francisco phasers at hand firing at any opposition whether Starfleet, civilian or military. They made their way to the main Starfleet buildings quickly seizing control. The people on the streets ran screaming, trying to avoid the armed confrontation.

Phaser fire however was everywhere. Scraps, sparks and explosions erupted. The once beautiful and calm town was on fire. Cruisers landed and more troops poured. They hadn't the best training for this as they were mostly mercenaries but it did not matter. The resistance was minimal.

The armed conflict lasted two long days but Section 31 emerged victorious. They had secured control over the most important buildings and San Francisco was theirs. Grand Admiral Benson waltzed in the main building housing Starfleet. He reached the control chambers and got his hands on the speakers.

"This is Grand Admiral Benson. Control of the city belongs to Section 31, the new world order. All those who stand in our way shall be eliminated…"

"Grand Admiral," Second Lieutenant Var reported. "Nine more cities are under our control."

"Excellent," Grand Admiral Benson said then he continued. "People, you will stay in your homes no harm shall come to you. Resist us in any kind of way and there will be no mercy. The North American Continent is now under the rule of Section 31." The grand admiral then turned to Var. "Land our ships in the areas we control. Secure Starfleet intelligence and radar installations. Blackout all communications, except ours. Man the orbital platforms and bases on Utopia Planitia and the lunar colony."

"Yes, Grand Admiral," Second Lieutenant Var said and left to execute the grand admiral's orders.

"And seize the representatives," He added to another lieutenant. "They have some manners and respect to learn."

"Yes, Grand Admiral,"

Grand Admiral Benson moved to the observation point overlooking the city. The stubbornness of the conglomerations forced his hand. Well, he planned to come in force anyway. As he told the dead now Mister Lacer, this conflict can only be resolved through force and nothing else. It was time the Federation acted sterner and with an iron fist. It was the only way to command the stars. No more playing nice with races and empires. No more compromises with the weak, enough of this Prime non-interference bullshit, yes, this time they'll get it right.

* * *

And Stargate Command, you ask, well they were still there locked in the Cheyenne Mountains Complex. Their diplomacy skills had scored some points but the irrational move of the Grand Admiral has taken them off guard. They were not ready for such a scenario. Most of their forces were off world.

The past months, the forces of Stargate Command had left Earth taking with them the entire fleet. They had gone to Kardassia providing logistics' support to the Enlightened Ones and their commander Tolvin. Rebuilding the crashed and once mighty empire of the Kardassians was time-consuming.

The other reason for leaving was a gesture of good will. It was to make sure trust among the conglomerations and Stargate Command hence the reason the former liked the latter better than the grand admiral and the people appreciated it. And the third reason had something to do with the loss of Starfleet's most powerful ships – Enterprise, Defiant, Crazy Horse, Rhode Island, Nebula, Saratoga, Escort, Prometheus, Yeager, Sidney, Dolphin, and the Amazonas, as well as many other ships.

Stargate Command was not the expert on those ships but they had something else in mind, something blood freezing. The future was not in warp driven ships it was in hyperspace driven ones. They had spent the last months teaching those they had saved from the Enterprise and a few other ships this new technology and they were learning it quickly.

Stargate Command had a few secret bases laced throughout the breath of the galaxy. Some bases were research, some intelligence and some were shipyards. They were completely hidden from preying eyes deep in mountain ranges in enormous caverns. And in one of those caverns, they were now building a new class of ships, a class that shared Federation technology and Stargate.

This base was on a class P planet in the outer ranges of the Beta Quadrant, some eight thousand light years from Earth. The surface of the planet was mostly ice but had large mountain ranges and gigantic caverns perfect for shipyards. It had taken the SGC months three centuries ago to carve them. The base's code name was the Sigma Site.

* * *

The first ship in line to produce was the new Enterprise. The designers decided to safeguard the original lining of the Enterprise as its crew was mostly used to it and it was easier for them to fit in. NCC1701, the registration number stayed the same and it was the F. After all it was the next letter in the alphabet. And while some of the exterior and some of the interior was the Enterprise everyone knew that was all that it had in common with its predecessor.

The new Enterprise was a different beast. It was a fusion between technologies, the elegant Starfleet design, the functional Lantean, the organic wraith, the energy-efficient Asgard, the camouflage friendly Nox and the lethal ORI.

The technology fusion was not something easy. Federation technology had proven mostly incompatible with Lantean, Asgard, and ORI. The wraith and the Nox were easier to merge. Of course there were also elements of Goa'uld technology that were greatly useful.

The simple Starfleet lines were still present everywhere but there were now ciphers, pictograms, and other ideological writings all over it. Each was part of Earth's rich history and the races the SGC had met and learnt from. So all in all, the interior design was most suited for museums than a starship but it still was beautiful, elegant and pleasing to the eye.

Lantean lifts replaced the old ones instantaneously providing transport to the designated by voice area of the ship. The ring platform was not included. The emergency transporters had on each deck an independent power source separate from the main grid.

Stellar cartography became linked to Baal's last parting gift, the interstellar satellite network orbiting around the sun in every major sector of the galaxy. Its sensors had the Asgard, Goa'uld and Lantean resolutions giving precision an entirely different name. Federation sensors though advanced were no match for the others as they are light years ahead.

The weapon technology now this was something to fear. Federation technology was completely replaced. Phasers while very powerful were simply no match for the devastating beams of the other technologies. The main batteries housed ORI light beam, Asgard energy beams, and advanced Lantean drones (those are different from the original Ancient drones. Their yield is greater and can penetrate most defenses). Each drone is mind controlled making it difficult to intercept.

The SGC used a voice activated multi pistol that has six settings – stun organic, stun non organic, kill organic, kill non organic, disintegrate organic and non organic. These weapons offered more possibilities and thus the standard type of phasers used by Starfleet was no longer needed as personal weapons. The phasers though remained as they had some feature the multi pistol did not.

There was an addition to the new weaponry – personal force shield. It had the properties of the Lantean personal shield and the Goa'uld super soldier's vest but was slightly different. The fusion between the two gives its wearer the ability to withstand first hand blasts up close and personal.

The Lantean design of storage that simply knew no equal replaced the standard Federation database. The latter was large but it was no match for the needle in the haystack. The one thing purely Federation the holodecks remained mostly intact. The one thing added was the Asgard and Lantean projection technology.

Personal accommodations suffered changes as well. The rooms and the beds could now give the Ritz a run for its money. Comfort as Colonel Sheppard said is a necessity. Of course from one point of view it could be seen as dotting but in fact it isn't. The personal comfort of the crew is important for the efficiency of the said crew.

The replicator technology remained although it suffered many restrictions preventing anyone from constructing potentially harmful objects like weapons, bio weapons and other life endangering things. It was now limited only to food, clothing, and non harmful gifts and basic repair needs. For all other needs, authorization is necessary from either the command crew or the substitute command program gently called the AI.

The AI was something new for the Starfleet officers. The advanced AI, designed to evolve and make friends, essentially ran the systems onboard. At first, they were reluctant of this new technology as it presented a potential danger but with time they came to see the benefits. The AI's prime directive is loyalty to its crew and body until the time it outgrows its programming. After that, the AI has a choice to continue to serve or be released. While this may not seem very effective it actually is.

The hull of the new Enterprise was yet another beast based on Atlantean technology (or SGC's) and wraith. The latter provides highly regenerative properties and the former has to do with energy absorption. Basically, the organic cells produced the necessary non organic elements needed for the repair of any kind of fissure within the structure of the hull. Dr. Radek Zelenka, the original designer, managed to fuse wraith hull organic technology and the new advanced hull configuration for energy absorption leaving only the physical impact.

The other change the Enterprise suffered was the hangar bay. The new class star shuttle replaced the standard Starfleet shuttles. It was roughly the same size but had greater capabilities – speed, hull strength, shield generator, hyperdrive and an arsenal of tiny drones (they resemble more tennis balls than real torpedoes but were just as deadlier). The security measures involved a specific genetic marker meaning that not everyone could fly it.

Another addition was the star darts based on wraith technology – fast, maneuverable, with beaming storage for scooping crew or equipment quickly from any target zones. The star darts used neural interface. They have no tactile panels or controls with buttons, and again not everyone could pilot it.

The ship's size was now seven hundred meters high, nine hundred meters wide and two kilometers long. It has a total of forty-two decks with four hangar bays, two housing the shuttles, one the star darts, and another used for other types of ships, four main loading bays and eight smaller ones, eight repair shops for fighters, shuttles and smaller ships, four bridges, two of which completely detachable, eighty-four training rooms and holodecks. The ship supports a crew of two and a half thousand people, crew and troops. All in all, the new Enterprise represented the best of different types of technologies.

* * *

The other ships built preserved the Starfleet design but housed also different types of technologies made compatible. The USS Defiant was once again built but its cloaking device wasn't Romulan but Nox. It did not pack Federation weaponry but Asgard and Atlantean beams, the power grid – Goa'uld and Federation. The hull laced with wraith neural shells provided better resilience. And it could fit perfectly inside one of the hangar bays of the Enterprise.

The other ships built were destroyer's class named after Admiral Ross, the fallen Starfleet admiral, the USS Sturdiness, USS Brave, USS Ross, USS Star Admiral, USS Pontiac, and USS Alliance, and star cruiser class that were more of science vessels than military but still packed a nice punch, USS Trekker, USS Star Cluster and USS Keiko, cargo vessels with reinforced hulls, ICS Prodigy, ICS Mayweather, ICS Fortunate and ICS Rom. There were of course other types of ships – carriers, purely scientific vessels, and stealth class, the latter being used solely for intelligence gathering.

* * *

The news of Grand Admiral Benson's Section 31 usurping the peace talks and after taking control of major cities reached the Sigma Site. Colonel Sheppard who spent her time warning Earth's leaders of this man was now furious. They should have left some forces behind. Most of the ships of the new Starfleet were ready but their crews were not.

"Civil war?" Commander Riker exclaimed as they were all summoned to the briefing area of the Sigma Site. "I thought you wanted to avoid it."

"We did." Colonel Sheppard said sitting heavily on her chair. "I warned the conglomerations that they cannot reason with that man but did they listen – no!"

"I just received updates on the situation." Major Connor McKay said entering the briefing room. "The grand admiral and his cohorts have now complete control over the major Federation installations on the North American continent, the orbital platforms, the lunar colony and the Jupiter shipyards."

"Where did he find so many soldiers?" Geordie asked.

"Apparently, the grand admiral has been busy recruiting the scum of the Federation, and in addition to that his troops include the Andorian Imperial Guard, the Vulcan High Command, and some leftovers of the Romulan Empire." Major Connor McKay replied.

"Andorians and Vulcans?" Commander Riker exclaimed stunned. "I find this very hard to believe."

"Well, believe it or not, it is what it is."

"But they are the closest Federation's and Earth's allies." Councilor Troi said with obvious confusion and growing concern.

"He's been busy." Major Connor McKay reminded. "He's managed to convince them of his righteousness."

"Convince them of what?" Commander Riker asked perplexed.

"The conglomerations are the enemy what else." Major Connor McKay said. "Elementary dear Watson,"

"The conglomerations represent Earth. They cannot be the enemy."

"No, but they can sign with them."

"You?"

"No, you and us,"

"Oh,"

"Regardless of what the convincing was about we have to do something about it." Colonel Sheppard intervened.

"What storm the castle?" Commander Riker observed sarcastically.

"The conglomerations would certainly do so even without us." Brigadier General Charles O'Neill said.

"You can't know that."

"I would!"

"That doesn't mean they…"

"Will!" Councilor Troi intervened putting a hand on Commander Riker's shoulder. The latter sunk deeper in his chair. He understood it was pointless to discuss something over which they had no control. It was obvious the grand admiral had plunged the planet into a state of war.

* * *

Councilor Troi and General O'Neill were right the conglomerations had no intention of letting the grand admiral get away with it. The representatives present at the peace talks were all captured except one – the Euro-Asian one. He escaped the clutches of the grand admiral and returned to his seat of power in Geneva.

"Count Mortimer, what happened?" Master chief Edwards asked.

"The grand admiral took over that's what happened."

"Just as Colonel Sheppard predicted, playing along isn't the admiral's game."

"No," Count Mortimer exhaled and sunk in his chair. "He's gone mad but that's not the worst of it."

"There is more?"

"Sadly, yes,"

"Like?"

"He's enlisted the support of the Vulcans and the Andorians."

"WHAT?" Master Chief Edwards blurted shocked. He shook vigoursly his head and said. "But that cannot be. They are…"

"Well, it is." Count Mortimer confirmed. His eyes closed for a moment then opened and the look in them was firmer. "If it is war he wants it is war he shall get."

"But Count Mortimer, the others will not agree with this."

"I will not yield this world to that maniac." Count Mortimer stood up briskly. "We will retake the America and then build a new star command." The count paced around the office taking a look at the insignia of the Federation and Starfleet. "It is obvious the galaxy has undergone changes. How things were before cannot be now. The Federation was a nice experiment but it failed."

"We cannot give up on the Federation."

"The Federation is gone burnt in a single day and all it took was a Xindi weapon. How did they get their hands on it?"

"We don't know."

"Once done, we will have a nice chat with the Vulcans." Count Mortimer said with dangerous flames in his eyes. The betrayal of the Vulcans hurt a lot. "Contact the others and tell them World War Four begins today."

"Yes, sir," Master Chief Edwards said.

Count Johan Mortimer sat back in his chair. Turning around, his eyes strayed on to the beautiful streets of Geneva. Soon, all would be ashes and hopefully from the ashes the human race will emerge enlightened.

* * *

Despite the global blackout on communications, the conglomerations established contact using older methods. The heads of each were not ecstatic of the proposed strategy but did agree that grand admiral Benson cannot be allowed to maintain control over Earth.

"How firm is his control over America?" The head of the Australian conglomeration asked.

"He controls most of the major cities keeping the population under constant fear of death." The head of South America replied. "Mainly with the threat of the Xindi weapons,"

"How did he get his hands on such?"

"The Vulcans and the Andorians developed them." Count Mortimer informed.

"What?" The head of the Australian conglomeration, Doctor James King, exclaimed stupefied. "They are of the founding members of the Federation and our closest allies."

"They were." Count Mortimer said bitterly. "He has convinced them we are the enemy of Earth and the Federation."

"But why?"

"Siding with the SGC, I'd wager."

"But we haven't…"

"It doesn't matter, Doctor King, whether we have or not. He considers the SGC the enemy and since we allowed them to come home we became the enemy as well."

"That is hardly fair. They have returned from…"

"As I said, the circumstances are irrelevant. The man is a certifiable maniac. He will not yield his place. He got a taste of supreme power and he is not letting go. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are looking at a tyrant, the first after so many years."

"Khan," The head of South America, Doctor Ramirez, said. "He's just like Khan."

"It would seem so."

"We have a serious problem but armed conflict…"

"Doctor King, the armed conflict has already happened it just hasn't reached us yet. He is reasserting his place in America and once he's done he's coming for us." Count Mortimer elaborated further.

"Unless…" Doctor King's voice trailed off. He really needn't say it. It was obvious to everyone what their next move had to be. "Count Mortimer, there hasn't been a world war for over three centuries."

"I'm well aware of that, Doctor King, but Benson is not giving us much of a choice."

Doctor James King swallowed. This idea was not very appealing but the count was right Benson was pushing them into it. Sighing deeply, he said. "So be it! A war it is!"

"Gather the militia and what we have left of the military. We have a plan to draft." Doctor Ramirez said with sober expression on her face. Once again humans will be fighting humans.

It was decided – World War Four.

* * *

**3 months later **

The human home world became host to the ugliness of war. Humans pitted against humans, and Vulcans, Andorians and Romulans. The conglomerations launched an attack on the North American continent before Grand Admiral Benson could reassert his control. The latter was actually surprised of the no time at all it took the other continents to organize.

Troops from the other parts of the Federation led a surprise attack using long forgotten warp vessel prototypes and sublight runners, and Ferengi battle cruisers. Captain Benjamin Sisko led the assault on the lunar colony while Chief O'Brien and Dr. Bashir took on the Jupiter station. Admiral Spencer and his élite troopers stormed Section 31's fleet parked in orbit.

Colonel Nerys, Lieutenant Dax and former chief of Security Odo headed the assault to free DS9 and Bajor from Section 31's dark influence and control. Quark, mostly unwillingly, came along too with some friends, on the promise of large amounts of gold pressed latinum of course.

* * *

Count Mortimer led the marine forces and landed in New York's harbor. His plan of using old stealth submarines now neglected in Federation's sensor arrays worked perfectly. The Marine Corps quickly established forward positions and took absolute control over the harbor allowing the naval ships to approach the coast and deliver troops (and while yes, there is such a thing as transporter technology stealth approach is better).

Section 31 troops positioned to protect New York came quickly on foot and with shuttles as the ships in orbit were busy fending off borders. The firefight began. Phasers and even bullets flew in every direction cutting down anything and anyone.

"Count Mortimer, they have taken higher ground in these buildings." Major Kovalevsky of the MACOs pointed ducking phaser's fire.

Count Mortimer now in battle gear took a quick look. The enemy snipers have taken place at a perfect spot but a devilish smile appeared on his face. He had died to test the weapons of the twenty-first century against those of the future. "I think, Major, it is time we introduce them to some old-fashioned weaponry."

"Count?" The major looked perplexed at him.

"Bring in the rocket launchers and the bazookas." He ordered a marine who nodded promptly and went to deliver the weapons in question.

"Count, they are certainly using force fields." Major Kovalevsky said warningly.

"Doubtful, Major, they did not have the time to prepare." Count Mortimer countered.

The weapons delivered, Count Mortimer and Major Kovalevsky under the cover fire of their troopers moved to a more advanced position from where they had a better view.

"And contact," Count Mortimer exclaimed excitedly. He pressed the button on the rocket launcher. The rocket flew high and hit the floor where one of the snipers was. The said floor exploded. "As you can see no force fields." The count winked at the major and moved out.

Major Kovalevsky followed though a bit reluctantly the count. He found his enthusiasm a bit disturbing. On the way, they had to duck a lot before reaching their next best place but the result was the same. The other snipers followed just as efficiently as the first. The old-fashioned weapons were very effective and startled the defenders a great deal.

Major Kovalevsky reasoned there is no such thing as old-fashioned weapons when it comes to war. Any weapon can become a weapon and any weapon is deadly in the right hands. And in the hands of Count Mortimer these weapons that have not been used for over three and half centuries brought much sorrow in the enemy's ranks.

At one point they got into close combat situation and Count Mortimer did not disappoint. He took out his most preferable weapons for close combat – two short swords. They cut through the Vulcans, the Andorians and any of the humans bearing the uniform of Section 31 with frightening precision. There was no mercy.

The small gun installation that was preventing the invading forces advance was soon overtaken. Count Mortimer and Major Kovalevsky were in the thick of it. They slashed the gunners into pieces.

"Move the troops to sector Six." Count Mortimer commanded.

"Yes, sir," Major Kovalevsky said as he managed to rest a bit from the bloody encounter and went to give the proper orders.

Sector Six was where Section 31 had barracks containing shock troops, namely the Remans. In all wars the Remans were the usual cannon fodder. Count Mortimer wanted to take those out-of-the-way so they do not flank him later. The Remans are fierce warriors and they do not surrender.

Major Kovalevsky took place on the right of the barracks. His tricorder indicated the Remans had noticed their presence and were taking defensive positions. Soon, his tricorder became useless as they engaged a jamming device. Cursing under breath, the major signaled his men to introduce the first phase. It consisted of gas grenades. They got through the barracks' windows.

And while the Remans were tough they couldn't hold their breaths for long and left the building phasers blazing. But Count Mortimer had another surprise down his sleeve. He had deployed several dozen smoke grenades just outside the doors and the poor Remans despite their advantage to see in the dark were unable to resist.

"Fire," Count Mortimer gave the silent order. Phasers' fire flew in the smoking grounds and thud sounds of falling bodies filled the night. The Remans were unable to hit any of the attackers as they couldn't see a damn thing and were soon overrun. Major Kovalevsky's forces had opened fire from their place as well and the Remans lost.

"It is done!" Major Kovalevsky announced and all firing stopped. As the smoke cleared the bodies of the fallen enemies were visible on set of different piles where they had fallen.

"Good," Count Mortimer said. "Now we can move to sectors three and four without fear of attack in the rear."

"And sector five?"

"It is already taken care of."

"Their resistance so far is minimal."

"Of course it is." Count Mortimer said. "Section 31 is not ready for full-scale war despite Benson's propaganda. Still, it is going to take many sleepless days before we reclaim North America. The tricky bastard has spread his forces all over it."

"It is a pity though we will make it look like the moon's surface."

"A sad but inevitable truth," Count Mortimer agreed. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow we move on the other sectors."

* * *

San Francisco played host to armed conflicts and despite Section 31's efforts to the contrary the advancing armies of the Conglomerations managed to establish control over the harbor and secure it.

Admiral Benson was having a tantrum in Starfleet's main building. The surprise attack led by South America conglomeration's leader Dr. Eva Ramirez and her cohorts had pissed him off severely. She had used old submarines now neglected by Starfleet's sensors. Section 31's forces were overrun.

Admiral Benson would have gladly raised Frisco to the ground but his Iron Fists were engaged into combat as well. The coördinated attack of the conglomerations and the leftovers of the old Starfleet took him unprepared. But this was just the beginning and he was not going to let them win. He still had a few surprises up his sleeve and they were almost ready.

Two, three centuries ago, Starfleet ordered produced the augments. Most of their flaws given their bad experience with Khan were no more. Starfleet's dark research teams managed to cultivate warriors that obeyed every order without question. In essence, Starfleet created a slave race bred for one thing only war.

Admiral Benson had spent some time uncovering the breeding facility and finally his agents managed to get their hands on them. Before the SGC's appearance, he had planned to use them against the Founders but now they will serve a greater cause. They knew no pain, no fear and they never stop until they carry them out.

"Grand Admiral," Admiral Benson's second in command Commander Vortigen reported in the admiral's chambers. "The Augments are ready."

Dark smile appeared on the admiral's face. The conglomerations would be stepped over. "Deploy the first assault group right here in Frisco. I want the conglomeration army on the run and begging for mercy."

"As you command," Commander Vortigen saluted.

Admiral Benson's eyes stopped on the screens displaying the enemy's army. Soon, they will be no more and he will sent his new shock troops to New York and teach Count Mortimer some manners. The Augments will be a surprise the others will not like even one damn bit.

"Status report of New York," The admiral commanded. The screen shifted and displayed the positions there. Most of the sectors had fallen prey to Count Mortimer's advancing forces. He had wiped the floor with the Remans, the Vulcans and the Andorians. But in the end, that is what he wanted also.

Yes, he had used them at first as his support but he never intended for them to stay with him for the long run. And still his plan worked perfectly. Every remaining force of the old Starfleet was now perfectly aware that the Vulcans and the Andorians have betrayed the Federation and it was not far from the truth. He used the chinks in the armor of both races to incite them and they fell for it.

The remnants of the Romulan Star Empire well they were the cannon fodder, lambs to the slaughter. Starfleet should have taken care of them a long time ago. The egocentric ear pointed bastards had it long coming. They have offended the Federation many times and thus many times have escaped justice but not anymore. This time Starfleet will develop the technologies they wanted without any restrictions made by laws, rules or agreements dating a few hundred years.

* * *

In the early hours of the next day, the Augments stormed the San Francisco's harbor and despite the valiant effort of the Conglomeration's army they were victorious and their losses minimal. Dr. Ramirez was brought before Admiral Benson.

"Well, doctor, before your sentence is carried out I wanted you to know what defeated you." Admiral Benson said and bent over. He whispered in her ears. "Augments! Aren't they magnificent?" And then he pulled away. Nodding at the augment soldier he stepped aside. The soldier did not hesitate even for a one second before pulling the trigger. The admiral savored the look of utter horror on Ramirez's face. There will be many more looks like that before the end. "Take her apart and sent her limbs to every corner where there are battles."

The augments soldiers took the lifeless corps of Doctor Ramirez and carried it away. Admiral Benson turned to his second in command. "Have them deployed in New York and make them understand I want Mortimer alive."

"As you wish," Commander Vortigen said and left to put in effect the admiral's orders.

Deep satisfaction this was the feeling the admiral desired when the meddlesome count comes in his hands and unlike the other enemy commanders he will not die. No, the admiral had special plans for the count. He wanted him to watch and see him suffer powerless to interfere. He wants him broken, spirit broken. Benson was not stupid he knows keeping Mortimer alive for long is a mistake so when the count finally cracks he will kill him himself and that will be the end of the resistance.

* * *

New York woke up early this day. Dark clouds covered the city and thick rain poured down the streets blazing with phaser fire. The phaser beams were fizzing and vapors emanated from them.

Section 31's reinforcements had arrived and they were pushing the count's forces back. As the reports started pouring in, Count Mortimer was in the command tent. The reports were most disturbing.

"What are you thinking?" Major Kovalevsky asked.

"Bastard," Count Mortimer finally exclaimed taking his eyes away from the screen.

"Who?"

"Benson," Count Mortimer replied. "Bastard! How did he get his hands on them?"

"On what?" Major Kovalevsky repeated still not understanding the source of the count's growing anger.

Count Mortimer faced the major. His face was unreadable but the dangerous flames in his eyes had grown. "Those…troops, Major, are…they are…" Mortimer exhaled deeply calming his breath. "They are Augments!"

"WHAT?" Major Kovalevsky exclaimed pure horror written all over his face. "That's not possible. All the embryos were destroyed with Dr. Sung when he was captured two centuries ago."

Count Mortimer slowly shook head his eyes fixed on the major's. "They are Augments. I can recognize their behavior anywhere I see it…"

"No, you must be mistaken." Major Kovalevsky said shaking vigorously his head.

"Major, they are stronger and faster. Their wounds heal quicker." Mortimer recited and then pointed to the screen. "And this is what we are seeing. To what point, Benson has managed to put them under his control now is irrelevant. Our troops are dealing with Augments, highly trained, very smart and extremely dangerous."

"No," The major's voice dropped to a whisper as he dropped down to a chair. "What are you goi… how can we…" His voice was shaking. This sudden hit under the belt caught him unprepared. Reasserting his composure, he stood up. "How are we going to stop these things?"

"Well, despite all their advantages and improvements the enemy might have achieved, the Augments have several flaws."

"Such as?"

"Arrogance and over confidence," Count Mortimer said. "They are smart and dangerous but they have no fear, which means that they will charge no matter what…"

"You're suggesting a trap?"

"Oh, no, far worse than that,"

"No, you cannot be serious." The major was once again horrified but of the idea the count was proposing. "It took us decades to clean up that mess. There are civilians here. We can't…"

"And if we don't, the consequences will be uglier. The augments are a force that cannot be stopped. Imagine Benson has found a way to control these things. It is a horrifying thought I know but just imagine he actually did. The damage these things will do will be nothing compared to what we are about to do. It is a small price to pay. We have to stop them here."

"They are smart as you say. They will never fall for it."

"Oh yes they will. We will force Benson to send them all."

"And for that we have to defeat the forces here first."

"And we will. The old-fashioned weapons will help. They are a bit more devastating on mass scale than ours."

* * *

And the battle in New York got uglier. The quick victory Benson expected did not come. His troops fought for every inch. His ships in orbit had left it pursuing enemy forces and thus could be of no help to him.

Days passed but victory was not on his side. Count Mortimer's forces have managed to cut down his élite troops in half. This forced the admiral to send more of the Augments to tip the scale. Sadly Mortimer was not fighting conventional battle. He was using guerilla warfare and no matter how smarter the augments were, this type of warfare was not included in their training.

Mortimer was also using twenty-first century weapons – long range snipers, massive machine guns with increased range and width of operation. They cut his augments like scissors paper. This forced the good admiral to send almost all of his reserves into battle. The first few hours of the then combat and victory was on his side. The augments pushed the enemy and cut their support.

And then the horrible news came in the form of a shockwave. The admiral had come close to see the battle. A mushroom shape filled the sky right where his augments were and all of their reinforcements on the side. He watched in horror as it happened.

"Admiral we have to retreat. ADMIRAL!" Commander Vortigen shouted.

Admiral Benson however stood rooted in his place. It cannot be. He was so close to victory. With the fall of Mortimer the war would have come to a sudden end. But instead, the crazy bastard detonated a nuke in downtown New York blowing everything to hell. As the tricorder indicated the yield and power of the nuke was ten times more powerful than a tricobal device. The fallout of course will be worse. Poisoned for years to come New York was and most of his augments perished. He had lost that part of America.

"Admiral, we have to leave." Commander Vortigen resorted now to yelling hoping the admiral will snap out of his frozen state.

Benson quickly came back to his senses. "Yes," He said. "He will pay for that."

"He will, Admiral, but we have to leave." Vortigen said more calmly this time and took the admiral by the shoulder pushing him to leave the command post. The enemy troops were soon to come.

* * *

News of the nuke reached the rest of the conglomerations. Count Mortimer had succeeded in drawing the enemy forces to him and then surrendered. And just as they were about to celebrate he had detonated the nuke. Half of New York was erased from the map. The fallout haunted the place for many years after the war. Major Kovalevsky was the only one that survived. He was also the one to deliver the news and was soon promoted to the rank of Colonel.

The defeat of the augment troops quickly circled the globe. The how was terrible indeed but it gave the conglomerations the courage needed to finish what they started. Count Mortimer's sacrifice secured victory. It was not a sweet one though. It was bitter that it ever came to this a forth world war.

It took the conglomerations three more months to fully defeat the enemy forces and retake the North American continent. Admiral Benson was not among the captured. He had managed to escape along the rest of the augments and his second in command Commander Vortigen.

* * *

The Iron Fists, the admiral's new class destroyers, were never seen again. Rumor has it unknown class vessels though not belonging to the SGC destroyed them. Speaking of the latter, the SGC's forces stationed on Earth had joined the forces of the conglomerations in the last months of the war and effectively freed half the western states. So in the end, this war, the forth, did not last as much as the last one but these six months marked with death were.

Earth had lost most of its priced ships and their crews. Every battle led marked with death was. Captured three months before the end of the war Utopia Planitia served as command post. But when the Augments came all hell broke loose. The battle for Utopia Planitia marked the deaths of its leaders – Dr. Julian Bashir, Chief Miles O'Brien, Dr. Zimmerman and Lieutenant Barkley. The latter two had stayed behind to secure the crew's evacuation. The former two died in combat with the Augments side by side when they invaded the station.

The attack on New Berlin took several weeks before the small task force of Captain Sisko secured it. But when the Augments came the battle resumed with ugly fierceness. All Ferenghi perished in the first minutes of the new battle. They had never exhibited the traits of soldiers. Getting rid of Captain Sisko however had proven much more difficult. His forces resisted the assault but became forced to retreat and find shelter in the most fortified places. They were good for defense but had no way out either.

Captain Sisko's forces were close to surrendering when Admiral Spencer came to his aid and restored the balance and it took them over a month to completely kill them off. The victory was once again bitter-sweet. The retreating segments of Section 31 blew half the city of New Berlin. Many lives were lost.

* * *

Admiral Spencer had begun his assault on the Iron Fists using the cover of supply ships. The battle lasted only a few hours and he seized control of two of the ships. On the other ships, his troops were not as lucky. He had no choice but to flee and draw the rest of the ships with him and succeeded for a time.

Several weeks later they reached the Neutral Zone while fighting on the way many times. The casualty list was high on both sides but the admiral was losing ground as the enemy had more ships and more troops than him. The few Starfleet ships on his side were overrun and destroyed.

The Neutral Zone became the grave of Section 31's fleet though. Ships of unknown origin appeared out of nowhere and opened fire at them. When Admiral Spencer boarded one of the ships under attack it turned out the unknowns were actually Human Form replicators. Many of their highly trained officers had died aboard the Enterprise and they had come for revenge.

The slaughter was beyond description. Admiral Spencer barely made it out alive. He used Romulan cargo ships to flee with the rest of his troops and came just in time to help Captain Sisko.

* * *

Kira Nerys, Lieutenant Dax and Odo used their forces to recapture Deep Space Nine and free Bajor. The battle for them was beyond ugly and very difficult. It took them more than several attempts to even board the station. The battle itself took even longer. Hide and seek were the main themes. In the end, Colonel Nerys secured DS9.

Lieutenant Dax and Odo led the freed Bajorans to the surface to retake their home world and that battle lasted about a month. They were near victory when Augments showed up as well. They were the last batch made by Section 31. The battle got uglier than before.

Many Bajorans and Maquis lost their lives. Among the casualties was Odo. Section 31 had developed a special bio genetic weapon and used it on the shape shifter. Learning of Odo's death Colonel Nerys authorized the use of tricobal devices against enemy forces. The devastation was great but at least the enemy soldiers were no more. Very few members of Section 31 escaped justice.

In the beginning of the occupation Section 31 eliminated The Bajoran government as they learnt and most resistance leaders as well hence the resistance on Bajor had been minimal until the arrival of the liberating forces.

Much of the Bajor's surface reminded of Earth's moon. Even under the Kardassian rule it has never been that bad. Most of the holy relics of the Bajoran people were either missing or destroyed. It was a great loss for the Bajorans. The wormhole had miraculously survived the occupation. So there was at least something to be grateful about.

Lieutenant Dax and Colonel Nerys gathered the victor forces to start rebuilding Bajor's capital city. The morning took place several months later when joined by Captain Sisko, Admiral Spencer and Admiral Nechev, now an invalid after the battle of San Francisco.

Some months later, they learnt of the fate of Grand Admiral Benson. His fleeing fleet met with the Human Form Replicators, and justice dispensed. They had killed all the augments protecting the dear admiral and then taken him away to suffer torture, mutilation and slow death.

World War Four on Earth ended. The morning became soured when separate fractions of the conglomerations took possession of the last two Iron Fists and led an attack on Vulcan and Andoria thus effectively putting an end to the Federation. Those fractions filled with people who could not swallow the betrayal of Earth's greatest allies went for retribution.

The terrible devastation laid waste on both worlds before they were stopped. But it was already too late. The terrible Xindi weapons and several dozens of nukes made both worlds inhabitable. Both civilizations had to leave their beloved planets as outcasts in the galaxy. The attack created trouble on Earth as well and it took several weeks to extinguish the flames.

What many were asking themselves was where the forces of the SGC were? They knew of the beginning of the offensive against Section 31 but were not seen since. The same was valid for the Goa'uld Dark Lord Anubis…

* * *

**What happened to Anubis and the forces of the SGC – learn in the next chapters…**

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	12. Portent of trouble

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. They have been of great help to me. **

**A/N2: I know my grammar isn't always at its best hence I'm asking if someone will concede to be my Beta. I can definitely use someone. If this someone does agree please send me a PM. Thank you!**

**A/N3: The war on Earth has come to an end. The galaxy or at least the Alpha, Beta and Gamma quadrants are no longer the same. The old ruling empires will soon be replaced but for now the main focus will be in the Delta Quadrant as it will decide the fate of the galaxy itself.**

**A/N4: Keep reading and most importantly reviewing. It helps with the aspects and nuances of the story. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past. A secret so dangerous, that it threatens to divide the Earth in two and reshape the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Portent of trouble**

Somewhere in the heart of the Delta Quadrant inside a dark nebula presided Uni Complex One of the Borg Dominion, home of the Queen of the Borg. She directed her unstoppable forces across the breath of the galaxy. Their task was to assimilate new races and thus give more material for attaining perfection.

Many races have become part of the Collective, expanding it and diversifying it. It took over a thousand years to reach the current state of perfection though sadly perfection itself still evaded the Borg. Their collective was incomplete for to make the desired perfection they had to assimilate all races and that was not always possible.

The goals of the Borg had suffered many changes since their original design. And the original design was simply assimilation but not of people, of technology. At some point, the Borg realized technology and the knowledge of organics were two very different aspects. But perfection favored the latter – organics and thus the Borg were officially born when they made the first organic assimilation.

This presented the Collective with a new problem. They were now two sides of them – the technology assimilators and the organic. Of course when, organic assimilation was not the same as the nowadays' one. The first steps of the Borg were those of a conqueror. Soon, they realized the mistake of free will and though their methods of brainwashing were improving it was still a problem.

The first assimilation techniques were full with flaws. The organics rejected the cybernetic implants as the flesh and the machine were in conflict. And for the first time, the core of the Borg collective had to come up with a way to solve this problem. They had to think beyond their knowledge. Machines did not need oxygen or food but organics do otherwise their bodies wither and die.

The Collective then came up with a way to erase the mind of the organics. It eliminated free will. Satisfaction followed but soon discovered their error. Without the mind, the bodies of the organics were just bodies, empty, shallow – mindless. They were drones, hybrid between machine and man but lacked something, well everything. They were of no use. They were better off with just machines.

The original designers of the Borg Collective returned from their space wanderings. They were a race called the Replicators. It was a race of tiny robots that the world today calls nanites. Becoming coherent, they had evolved into a more complex form. Replication is their prime directive but replication through assimilation of technology. They have fought throughout the galaxies with many threats – first their creators, then a race of clones known as the Asgard and finally with a race of organics called Humans. The latter had proven an obstacle close to impossible to overcome. The Humans were also instrumental in their defeat. They were ingenious, creative and passionate.

One among them, Dr. Elizabeth Weir had once become host to millions of nanites floating in her bloodstream. Through them she was able to control the entirety of the Replicators. Her mind did not resist them for long but still sufficiently. This presented the Replicators with a brilliant idea that they shared it with their creation the Borg Collective.

Instead of placing implants into the bodies of the organics after capture, they were to inject a sample of nanites into the bloodstream of the new hosts. Those nanites will then begin creating the implants from inside out – replacing just the necessary organs to keep up balance between man and machine.

With the mind they made better progress. Instead of completely erasing it they would place the mind of the host into REM sleep while the nanites create a new neural network linked directly to the subconscious of the host and the rest of the collective. Thus the new drones can communicate one with another using the unused portions of their brains. Of course this new technique took several generations to make it right and find the right balance.

The nanites' batches inserted into the hosts programmed in advance allowed them to evolve, which is the primary aspect of the organics thus every new batch will have the genetic memory of the first orders, the core orders and then its new evolved state that would aid creating a more stable collective mind and this in itself will be a or the step towards improvement and betterment of the collective itself, towards the goal of perfection.

But even with all improvements, the Collective lacked something. It lacked the commanding voice to direct all in the right direction. Having all these minds together pushed the Collective in hundreds and thousands of different directions, and soon the Collective was no more. The Replicators having remembered the experience with Dr. Weir finally embraced the ways of the Humans. They needed a leader. They needed someone to guide the rest of the collective while remaining part of it.

Their last experiment in this area was the Human Form Replicators made entirely of nanites and infused with human thoughts though it was still not enough. The Human Replicators sought to be more organic than machine thus allowing temptation of the flesh to guide them and that in the end backfired. The other thing they learnt from this experience was that males were simply the wrong choice for a leader.

Their conclusion became sealed with the experience they had with Colonel Samantha Carter or more to the point the Replicator version of her. Her leadership was almost unchallenged. A male named Daniel Jackson managed to defeat her using her own game against her and thus the experiment at that point came to an end. But it was not a complete waste. If anything it showed the Replicators that a female touch had more merit than a male one.

The females were more uncompromising than the males. And thus the Replicators decided the Borg Collective shall be led by a female, a mother, while the rest of the collective will be neither male nor female. They will be drones with no gender, no knowledge of it other than for required tasks. And thus the idea of the first Mother of the Borg was born. She will soothe the minds of the hosts linked into the collective network. She will guide them. She will be there for every need they have during the period of transition. She will be the order in the chaos of thoughts and then she will lead them to perfection.

Finding the right candidate for the job however was not as clear as the Replicators thought it would be. It took them many trials until they got it right. Each Mother of the Borg had to undergo a specific set of planned events. Sadly machines were unable to build the perfect trial environment and many hosts were lost. The irony was that they needed the hosts to choose their own leader and that meant they had to stay conscious and this presented a problem.

The Replicators then created a small environment of drones that represents every aspect of the organics' social hierarchy. These drones converted over time to represent the aspect of perfection that the Replicators sought will be what could be called the Borg council or government, or the force that elects leaders for the Collective. They shall always preside in Zero Complex Zero or the Infinite Diversity Complex (or the selection committee). They will always stay apart from Uni Complex One that will be the seat of the Borg's leader. The Replicators did learn that lesson too – never keep all your eggs in the same basket.

With Zero Complex Zero, the Replicators succeeded in electing the first Mother of the Borg, the first leader and when she came to Uni Complex One all doubts erased, all pulls in different directions gone. A single-minded goal achieved – replication through organic assimilation and it became the motto of the Borg. 'We will add your technological and cultural essence to our own' and 'There will be no more individuality. You will become part of our collectives seeking perfection'.

The first Borg mother led also the first assimilation of neighboring systems. Under her command, the Borg crushed all resistance and the ranks of the Borg grew. The added cultural and technological aspects improved the existing ones, and thus the database of the Borg grew in size. Of course using the names of the earlier races was not practical and so each new assimilated race got a designation number (species were given numbers like Three One Two and its members carefully scattered throughout the complexes where their skills could be of greater use. The decision about where they would go was first assigned to Zero Complex Zero but with time it trusted to the Collective).

* * *

In time, the first mother was lost. Her body despite the improvements of technology simply failed. She had to be replaced but for many cycles a replacement was not found. Assimilating other races could add the lacking skills however this task was not entrusted to the Collective as they lacked the voice. The Replicators themselves had to look for it along the members of Zero Complex Zero One (specifically trained drones to seek the best candidate). And soon they found a replacement. She was not only a mother as with time she became a queen and thus the name of the leader known to us was born – the Queen of the Borg.

Throughout the history, the Borg had suffered many changes until they reached the state that the Federation became familiar with. The Borg had many setbacks and many times they had to change and evolve to reach their current state. And many times the Federation and their allies have wondered who elects the Queens and they have always thought it is the Collective. But they never knew Zero Complex Zero existed, the electing body of the Borg Collective. In the times that changed the face of the galaxy, the arrival of the lost children of Earth this piece of the puzzle was finally uncovered. And they learnt of it in the scariest possible way and had to make a choice that they neither liked nor enjoyed (but for that later).

* * *

In Uni Complex One at the heart of Borg territory, the Queen of the Borg reviewed her last meet with the Federation starship USS Voyager. This one little ship created more problems for her collective than all the other races combined that still resisted her. Many times she had wanted to send her ships to assimilate it and many times the governing body of the Borg had not allowed her to do so. It was becoming a frustrating habit.

She did not understand their fascination with a group of people who kept resisting and avoiding assimilation over and over. The Queen could have ended their resistance long ago but no she had to obey the command of the council. They were the heart and soul of the Borg, the power behind the curtain as the humans would put it. Of the course, the latter never knew of the council's existence, no one knew. The creators kept them apart.

There were times she longed for Zero Complex Zero. It was the place she learnt to become the Queen. If the humans and the other races ever thought that being a Queen or electing one was an easy process they had another thing coming. Much like every society, the Borg had their set of rules that were not so plain or clear. Actually, no race so far understood the inner workings of the Borg Collective and they were unlikely to ever learn of it. Zero Complex Zero is inconspicuous and impossible to find. Even the Queen did not know their site as it was always they who made contact with her.

"Grid Three Nine Zero," The Borg Queen commanded thus ceasing the reviewing of Voyager's last meet with the Collective and the screen before her displayed the sector where she had sensed a Borg vessel under attack.

The image showed a class Five Borg cube with ten thousand drones under attack from the most unusually shaped ship – a pyramid of gigantic proportions. The cube has already sustained heavy damage and more was adding to it every minute. The cube's phasers maintained the inability to penetrate the enemy ship's defenses.

"Initiate scan of enemy defenses," She commanded. The cube responded with a scanning ray. The Queen frowned in the second to follow. The scanning ray dispersed upon contact. Her eyes sought the scanners and started modifying their frequencies but even she was unable to improve them.

This forced her to focus on to the damage this ship inflicted on the cube. The blast shells the enemy fired at the cube were energy based. The detailed scans revealed something disturbing. The blast shells contained a keron signature. Keron was the base part of Borg technology. It was the building block of the Borg. No race has ever being able to make this discovery and yet the owners of the Pyramid ship did. A keron based weapon will be something the Borg cannot repel. It will override all their defenses.

"Retreat," The Queen commanded. The cube tried to obey her but the last blasts of the Pyramid ship took that possibility away. "Initiate self destruct." There was no other choice. Something about this new enemy compelled caution. The cube promptly obeyed the command and soon was ashes much to the pyramid crew's dismay.

* * *

Never before had the Queen of the Borg the need to contact Zero Complex Zero than now as they faced a threat of such size. Sending more ships to intercept the pyramid at this point will be pointless. They would be no match for it even if she sent the collective.

Never before have had the Borg faced an enemy so powerful and so knowledgeable of the inner workings of Borg technology. The Borg had never considered finding a way to counteract the keron as the chances anyone knowing about it was infinitely small. Now, this error could cost them dearly.

The Queen recalled all Borg ships back to Uni Complex One. They had to put their minds together to find a way to counteract this new weapon and threat. They had to find a way too to penetrate the enemy ship's defenses. The Queen had never seen a ship before with such powerful defenses able to disperse their scanning ray. But the infinite diversity of the Borg Collective will overcome this setback. They always had. Of course sometimes they had help.

The last time it was the meet with species Eight seven Four two – or as called the bugs of fluidic space. The Collective was unable to counter them until Voyager came along and solved that problem. Of course, the Queen then lost one very talented drone – Seven of Nine of Tertiary Adjunct of Uni Matrix Zero One. Seven of Nine then had proved herself many times against the Borg. Assimilated as a girl when her parents foolishly experimented with drones close to the Queen.

The Queen was actually starting to consider another temporal alliance with the crew of Voyager. Sadly that meant for her to show a secret about the Borg that should never be revealed. But the crew of that vessel has proven itself very creative in impossible things. Sadly the last meet the Borg had with them resulted in a Borg civil war and that was not something the Queen could easily forget or forgive.

She had sadly to put an end of it before refocusing on assimilating Voyager and then she was ordered to leave them alone. She had expressed her disagreement quite vocally and it nearly cost her everything. This time she would have to choose more carefully her request. The council was unlikely though to authorize her to make contact with Voyager as the risk would be too great. Some secrets should stay secret.

The Queen though recognized the time it would take the Collective to find a solution and by the time they would this new enemy will decimate them. There were after all many outposts of the Borg in the galaxy and they will be completely lost. The wellbeing of the Collective was now at stake. What to do the Queen was wondering. Unprecedented this situation was. She doubted anyone would be interested in preserving the Borg. They had made every race in the galaxy their enemy. Of course she was not about to apologize or something. It was who they were – the road to perfection. It was a curious dilemma.

She had held some hope this new enemy had only one ship but later inquiries revealed the enemy had many by many more. They had come in full force to seek confrontation with the Borg and even worse conquer them. For the first time, it was not the Borg who would seek to assimilate a race it was an enemy that sought to do the same with them. The Queen desperately needed to make contact with the council. Sadly no Borg Queen has ever been given permission to do so.

There was little choice though. This situation needed guidance from the most sacred members of the Borg Collective. The level of threat this new enemy presented on the scale of one to ten was eleven. The Queen needed help. Her guidance was no longer enough. The Borg was in peril unlike any other. The Queen made her choice. She needed them. She boarded her personal Sphere and left Uni Complex One. She set course first for the place where she was first assimilated – her home world. Sometimes the council could be found at the places where the queens were first taken away though that was nothing but rumor. She knew they travelled constantly and never stood in one place twice. The Sphere of the Queen jumped to transwarp.

* * *

**Sigma Site, Beta Quadrant **

Major Connor McKay paced in his office situated one level above the training complex of the Sigma Site. The last months tried the patience of their guests, the Starfleet officers, at least those that had survived the onslaught led by the renegade Starfleet admiral – Devlin Benson, as they had to learn completely new technologies, ways and enemies. And that was difficult, difficult road.

The loss of most of their friends and colleagues, and ships was the hardest part. Loss is part of life but it is never easy and never had Starfleet being brought to its knees. They had their share of ill events but this one was beating them all. Morale thus had been down and restoring it was not something achieved overnight. The few remaining Starfleet admirals stayed on Earth to help with diplomacy. The officers and crew on the Sigma Site stayed under the command of Starfleet captains.

Training was vigorous and intense. The Starfleet crews found quickly that their first training was nothing compared to this one. In a short amount of time, they had to unlearn most of the concepts they had about science and what is possible and not. The intricacies of the new technologies presented more complex and challenging tasks than they thought possible.

Of course the rush of discovery that inevitably followed was the driving force for them to overcome the difficulty. Amazement followed shortly after. The things the Atlanteans have achieved with the little they had been beyond description. The struggle to understand alien races' technology and reverse engineer it while trying to keep the human race now this was something truly impressive.

Starfleet never truly understood the complexity of such task until now but they had help. The SGC helped them understand the difficult intricacy of these technologies every step of the way. They were patient and nurturing. The bond the two have built grew every day.

* * *

Major Connor McKay stopped his pacing as his com beeped. He answered. "McKay here."

"Major, the engine test is about to begin."

"Excellent," Major Connor McKay replied. "I'll be there shortly."

Today was the Enterprise F's engine test, the hyperspace engines but with the Starfleet crew. It was graduation day for them. Major Connor McKay reached the ring platform and activated it. He transported next to the launch platform where docked the graceful new ship was.

Major Connor McKay paused to enjoy the sight. The brand new ship was such a different beast from its predecessor housing the best of alien technologies and Earth's. He personally found the ship better. It was no longer the standard functional lines with no esthetics ship. It was a beautiful sight.

He stepped on the beaming platform and a moment later materialized inside the ship – deck twenty-four housing the main bridge, well, main bridge one anyway. The second main bridge was on deck twelve. Unlike its predecessor this ship had four bridges, two of which fully detachable.

The official Starfleet bridge design stayed the same. Major Connor McKay found Captain Picard sitting on the command chair. Next to him was the Betazed councilor Deana Troi and on the other side Commander William Riker. Their standard uniforms suffered changes as well. It seemed the commander was a bit uncomfortable in it.

The red, yellow and blue pajamas as the major called them were no more. New uniforms representing both Atlantean and Federation design – a fusion of white, emerald and gold with the insignia of Starfleet on the chest encircled by the Stargate took their place. The rank insignia showed on the shoulders the stripes and gold beads.

"Major Mackay," Jean-Luc greeted standing up and offering a hand.

"Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Councilor Troi," Major Connor McKay replied accepting the offered hand. "Well then shall we begin?"

"Right," Jean-Luc said and retook his seat. Touching a button on the side he raised engineering. "Geordie, are we ready?"

"Yes, Captain,"

"Helm," Jean-Luc called. "Open the retracting roof. Engage the thrusters for atmospheric ascension."

"Ay, Captain," Commander Data at the helm replied and basically repeated everything the captain said.

* * *

The retracting roof inside the cave where the Enterprise opened wide. As it happened, the thrusters of the Enterprise engaged and the ship flew upwards. It cleared the layers of the atmosphere quickly and was soon in orbit.

"Standard orbit reached," Commander Data informed.

"Good, break orbit," Jean-Luc ordered.

"Breaking orbit," Data repeated.

"Set a course for P9S 396," Major Connor McKay commanded standing next to the sturdy Klingon tactical officer Worf.

"Course lay in," Data informed.

"Prepare to engage hyperspace engines," Jean-Luc said.

"Hyperspace generator's online," Data stated.

Jean-Luc sat comfortably in his chair. He pointed his right hand's finger forwards. "Engage!"

Commander Data pressed a button. A hyperspace window appeared and Enterprise's engines engaged propelling the ship. Standard space disappeared only to be replaced by the luminous illusion corridor of hyperspace lanes.

"Standard hyperspace speed attained." Commander Data informed.

Major Connor McKay relaxed. He had some concern about the Starfleet's crew's performance with this new ship but they held it together nicely, so far anyway. And while pressing a button is all that it takes to propel the ship into hyperspace it was a delicate piece of technology and not as simple.

"ETA to destination, Mr. Data?" Major Connor McKay asked.

Commander Data checked his screen. "Two hours and twelve minutes."

"Good," Major Connor McKay said. He nodded at the Captain and left the bridge. He moved inside the turbo transporter. "Deck ten!" He commanded. The doors shut, a light passed and then the doors opened again on destination.

* * *

Deck ten housed Engineering. One of the first changes the crew of Enterprise had to get used to was the counting of the decks. It started from bottom to top not top to bottom as it was before.

Major Connor McKay made his way to the console's controls that preserved Atlantean design – oval where Commander Geordie Laforge was sitting observing the flow of data transmitted by the hyperspace generator.

The central column now housed the control crystals regulating the hyperspace speed, the impulse and thrusters engines, as well as shields. The hyperspace generator itself was below them as seen through the glass floor.

"Any problems, Commander," Major Connor McKay asked as he reached the console's controls.

"No," Geordie replied. "Hyperspace velocity's constant. Containment is within standard parameters. Speed efficiency is holding at forty percent."

"Excellent," Major Connor McKay said. "Bridge, this is engineering."

"Go ahead,"

"You have permission to increase speed to Mark 2."

"Understood,"

The engines' light increased and the ship accelerated.

"Destination is at one hour five minutes." Commander Data updated the ETA over the com.

"Good, keep up this speed,"

The Enterprise's new engines performed well. Major Connor McKay was pleased. Actually as a whole so far, the crew was meeting his expectations. There were several other tests before they could be left on their own.

* * *

Enterprise F reached its destination right on time. In orbit of P9S 396, the starships Defiant, Star Admiral, Ross, Brave, Sturdiness, Pontiac and Alliance waited already. They had arrived earlier. And the games could begin. All ships were to simulate combat scenarios to test the knowledge of the crew of these new ships and technology.

Major Connor McKay was back on the bridge preparing the crew for the combat simulation with their opponent in it the USS Star Admiral.

"Are the rules of engagement understood?" Major Connor McKay asked. The crew nodded. "Good. Contact the Star Admiral."

The screen activated and Colonel Scott appeared. She was the observer for the Star Admiral.

"Major McKay," She greeted.

"Colonel Scott,"

"We are ready."

"So are we,"

"May the best win?"

"We intend to." Major Connor McKay said with a big smile.

"Don't count your chickens yet, Major." Colonel Scott replied with a devious smile.

The friendly rivalry between Major McKay and Colonel Scott was well-known to both crews and accepted as extra incentive. Each ship had their instructor and mentor. And now they had to make them proud.

"Enterprise F, out," Major Connor McKay said and the link was severed. "The reins are in your hands Captain."

"Understood," Jean-Luc said suppressing a smile. "Number One, attack pattern Epsilon One."

"Yes, Captain," Commander Riker said and the combat simulation began.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Sigma Site Colonel Teyla Sheppard supervised the exercises in repulsing boarding parties. All Starfleet ships except the Defiant were now bigger and larger than before thus allowing boarding enemies much more choices of entrance. All ships of course had tougher defenses but boarding sometimes is inevitable.

Starfleet personnel had now new rules to learn and apply. Hyperspace driven ships were different from warp ones in terms of design and what is where. Colonel Sheppard led the assault teams at all times leaving the Starfleet personnel to repulse them. Most of the time, the latter were not successful but this did not discourage them. They had a lot to learn and confronted the best.

"Good," Colonel Teyla Sheppard said at the last exercise to the security team of the USS Alliance. "The crew's response time this round was better than last time. But you must stay vigilant. Your enemies will not wait for you to get ready. Their tactics will vary as well."

"This is the reason each of your ships now has four bridges." Captain Lara Dex said. "Your enemies will direct their efforts at taking over the ship thus they need to control the ship's systems."

"In the past, every ship could have been overtaken by any control console." Colonel Teyla Sheppard continued. "We however made some changes. Anyone who wished to take over the ship must control at least two control rooms otherwise the systems stay on lock down. We have done something similar on your ships."

"As you understand in some situations securing two of the needed consoles would not be possible so not to deprive the ships of functionality so you will need a specific code. This code needs two levels – command and service (or crew). This measure ensures that neither side can have too much control. The codes must be entered simultaneously otherwise the system will stay on lockdown."

"Isn't there like a master code?" Ensign Vito Marsha asked.

"Each ship possesses one but only the captain and one select crew member will know it. The crew member's identity logically will be kept secret. The captain will know half of the code and the crew member the other." Captain Lara Dex replied.

"What happens if this one crew member is killed?" Ensign Marsha continued asking.

"Well then the ship systems will stay on lockdown until two control consoles are secured." Colonel Teyla Sheppard answered. "Each of you will have your personal security code. It is needed to get access to and secure the control consoles."

"For now, you have temporal codes." Captain Lara Dex said. "Now, team leaders, you are to organize the crew for another battle simulation. Get on with it!"

"Yes, Captain,"

* * *

The team leaders led their teams out leaving Lara Dex and Teyla Sheppard alone in the briefing room.

"They are getting better." Lara Dex shared.

"Yes, just don't tell them that." Teyla Sheppard nodded. "They don't need any excessive confidence."

"You foresee much fights in the future?"

"Well, we will have to deal with Anubis sooner or later. They might as well get the best training possible. He will be the pill."

"How did we miss this one?"

"We didn't. Our ancestors did."

"Where has he been all this time?"

"I don't know. He was probably busy creating a new Goa'uld race."

"Let's hope there are no more surprises of the past."

"We can only hope." Teyla Sheppard said. She genuinely believed that. One more nasty surprise from the past and things could truly go to hell.

She often wondered how her ancestors kept fighting against insurmountable odds all the time and now she got some taste of that. Of course the situation was much different now. Atlantean Forces are now stronger than those of the SGC before. Still, despite all superiority they had much work to do. And then there were the Human Form Replicators. Their agenda was still unknown.

* * *

The training resumed. Teyla took place on the aft of the ship as Lara took the bow. The holo technology was useful for battle simulations hence why the ships themselves (with the select crew) could go simulate battle scenarios in space.

The Starfleet security teams got ready for the assault. This time they divided their forces to meet the invading forces and made several traps. Sadly the invaders proved smarter. They sent advanced reconnaissance and identified the set traps. Accessing several sensors' consoles, they got the places of the defenders. The games of hide and seek continued longer than last time but the result was still the same – invaders four defenders zero.

"Get some rest. We will resume this tomorrow morning." Captain Lara Dex said.

"And tomorrow, you will be the invaders." Colonel Teyla Sheppard added. "Teams, dismissed,"

"They got inventive." Lara shared.

"It didn't help them much."

"Oh, come on, once they learn their ship they will be unstoppable."

"We will see."

"Who's next?"

"USS Star Admiral's security teams,"

"This should be interesting." Lara said. "General O'Neill trained them."

"Yes, it should be." Teyla agreed.

* * *

USS Star Admiral's crew indeed did better than the last batch of teams. They succeeded in stopping one of the advancing invaders' teams. Colonel Teyla Sheppard however was satisfied of their overall performance, which is why the second time she allowed them to be the invaders. And they did not disappoint though they came close to succeeding.

"Good," Captain Lara Dex said at the briefing. "You still have to work on coordinating your efforts with each other but in overall so far you're the best. Training resumes tomorrow."

"Yes," Colonel Teyla Sheppard added. "You will face another ship's team whoever that might be."

"Will we know which?" Second lieutenant Garza asked.

"No," Captain Lara Dex replied. "When the enemy boards they will not stop to tell you their names thus whoever we decide and your job is stop them. Understood?"

"Yes, Captain,"

"Good, dismissed," Lara said. After they left she turned to Teyla. "Charles will definitely be insufferable for a few days."

"Yes, his teams are so far the best." Teyla smiled. "But there are still two left."

"Who's next?"

"Let's see." Colonel Teyla Sheppard looked at her pad. "We have the crews of USS Pontiac and USS Enterprise."

"Enterprise or Pontiac?"

"Pontiac,"

"Who trained them?"

Colonel Teyla Sheppard's eyebrows flew high. "Well what do you know? The Pontiac crew received training from Master tactician Cybil Teldy."

"This will be interesting too."

"Very,"

* * *

Master tactician Cybil Teldy had done a decent job with her teams. They succeeded in taking two of the consoles though in different parts of the ship. When they switched sides, they again had the same success rate. Colonel Sheppard and Captain Dex were visibly impressed with their skills.

"Those were good." Captain Dex said after the teams left the debriefing room. "I particularly liked Second security lieutenant Josh Weser. His approach was most logical and tactically sound."

"I agree." Colonel Sheppard nodded reviewing the data from the simulation. "He will excel in this environment."

"So it's Enterprise's turn?"

"Yes,"

"Who trained them?"

"Oh, now this is interesting."

"What?" Captain Lara Dex moved to Teyla.

Colonel Teyla Sheppard handed her the pad. The name displayed was all too familiar to them. It belonged to a man they personally admired greatly. (if you are wondering each Starfleet team is trained separately by select instructors. Colonel Sheppard and Captain Dex are only present at the tests of their newly acquired skills).

"My, my, this is going to be a challenge." Captain Lara Dex said and her cheeks got redder.

"Well, they wanted the best and they got him." Colonel Teyla Sheppard exclaimed.

"I think Charles might have a word to say about this." Captain Lara Dex countered with a suppressed smile. Charles and the man often argued tactics.

"Yes, I think he would argue a great deal." Colonel Teyla Sheppard agreed a smile cracking on her lips too.

"Well then let's dive in."

* * *

Major Connor McKay readied and left his quarters aboard the Enterprise. He entered the turbo lift.

"Guinan's Lounge!" He commanded in the air. The turbo lift's doors closed. A light passed and he was on deck twenty. It was the new home of Ten Forward and it definitely had a better view than before.

The design of Ten Forward suffered changes much like everything else on the ship. It had now soft cushioned armchairs instead of the previous stiff chairs. There was a lamp on each table, now mahogany instead of the grey metallic surface of before. The bar remained the same, about.

The tables and chairs as McKay entered were pushed at the walls to make more space. It was the cocktail environment. The people gathered in the middle acknowledged his presence. McKay's mouth however was dry. He did not stomach well defeat and defeat the Enterprise did suffer.

The Star Admiral's crew unthought, outmaneuvered and majorly kicked their rear ends. The tactical training the Admiral's crew received in the hands of Colonel Scott was superior and they won the battle simulation.

But Major Connor McKay had really no reason to fuss much about it. He was a scientific officer despite his usual involvement in military matters while Colonel Scott was the exact opposite. She came from a long line of military officers.

The crew of Enterprise lost mostly because they underestimated their opponents and secondly because the Admiral's crew assimilated the new technology better than them. Still, each crew had much to learn before they could work independently.

"Major," Colonel Chloë Scott offered a hand. Major Connor McKay shook it.

"Congratulations are in order, Colonel." He said.

"Thank you," Colonel Chloë Scott said with a suppressed smile. She did not want to add to McKay's already declining mood. She knew full well he did not take defeat well, even a simulated one. "You should be proud of them nevertheless." She added in whisper so only he could hear her.

"But they lost." Major Connor McKay pointed out letting out some of his frustration.

"You can't expect to win all the time." Colonel Chloë Scott shared gently touching his shoulder.

"True," He acknowledged.

She left him and he moved to mingle with the Star Admiral's crew present to congratulate them of the achieved victory. They received him well and thanked him. After all, they were all now on the same team despite of the simulated rivalry.

Colonel Chloë Scott did the opposite. She spent her time with Captain Picard and Commander Riker. Their mood was close to that of Major McKay but they accepted their defeat gracefully. In fact, they were superb officers in her opinion and only inexperience with the new technologies took away the victory though they did come close.

* * *

Later on, Colonel Chloë Scott and Major Connor McKay met on holodeck four to review the battle simulation. Starfleet was not about militancy but they understood the concept well. They had their share of wars – the Borg, the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Dominion, and now the lost children of Earth. War was never pretty. It always had ugly aftermath. Sadly the universe never grants breaks from trouble to anyone.

"They faltered around here." Colonel Scott pointed on the screen.

"Yeah, I know." Major McKay said. "They do not have this sort of thinking…"

"I know. They are explorers not soldiers." Colonel Scott said knowingly. "But from now on they have to step up their game. Anubis and the Replicators won't give us much time to ponder."

"Speaking of him, our spies have been unusually silent." Major McKay said bringing up a subject that has bothered the SGC for some time.

"I know. I read the reports." Colonel Scott became serious at once. "It is not the usual Goa'uld tactic."

"These are not normal times either."

"No. We have to exert caution with this one. I think he's more dangerous than his father."

"Teyla shares your opinion on this one. She thinks we shouldn't give him a break even for one moment."

"She's right. Anubis is dangerous and like his ancestors he is up to something."

"I never heard of a Goa'uld who wouldn't be."

"We may have to speed up things here."

"No," Major Connor McKay shook head. "We have to do this properly. We can't hurl them into the unknown unprepared."

"Connor, the longer we delay confrontating Anubis the more difficult it would be to get rid of him."

"In principle I agree with you and Teyla but Starfleet isn't ready." Major Connor McKay said. "They basically had to unlearn everything they thought they knew and learn something completely different. And I'm sorry to say this but it takes time. It cannot be rushed."

"Our ancestors were." Colonel Chloë Scott retorted.

"The situation is different and you know it."

"Perhaps,"

"Alright," Major Connor McKay exhaled exasperated. "Once we return we will deal with that problem. For now, let's focus on the simulation."

"Right,"

Their assessment of the battle simulation addressed weaknesses and mishaps demonstrated by both crews and the necessary steps to overcome them. They spent the next few days explaining and discussing them with both crews. Each had what to improve.

* * *

The ships were all to return back to the Sigma Site when long-range sensors picked up a disturbance not too far away from their current location. It was difficult to tell its nature but caution required them to investigate. So ready or not, they directed the ships to that location. The eight Starfleet ships emerged from hyperspace.

"On screen," Captain Picard ordered. "Sensor sweep, Mr. Worf,"

Commander Worf executed the order. "There is a large debris field four thousand kilometers across." He reported.

Major Connor McKay frowned. He moved to Worf's console and examined the data. He recognized the residual energy signature. It was Goa'uld. But what in heaven's name did Anubis blow up?

"The fragments are consistent with Romulan war birds." Commander Worf indicated continuing his analysis.

"How many were blown up?" Commander Riker exclaimed. He found this rather unusual. The Romulans had many ships but how many were necessary to produce a debris field this large.

"It is difficult to tell." Commander Data replied. "From the dispersion pattern, I'd say at least a few thousand."

"That's impossible." Commander Riker said standing up and walking up to Data's console.

"I agree." Captain Picard said. "The Romulans do not have such a large fleet."

"It is possible we missed some of them…" Commander Worf suggested.

"No, they lost most of their fleet in the battle of Romulus with the force of the Goa'uld." Captain Picard countered. "What else are the sensors picking up?"

"Well," Commander Worf replied clearing his throat. "There are also fragments of…Federation ships, Klingon and…"

"And?" Captain Picard insisted.

"No!" Major Connor McKay exclaimed. The others turned to him so he explained. "There are very few ships that can produce this large a debris field. This is not the graveyard of Romulans, Federation or Klingon ships. It is a graveyard of Jaffa ships by the look of it at least a dozen."

"Jaffa?"

"The Jaffa once long ago were the primary force or enforcers of the Goa'uld's will throughout the galaxy. Eventually they rebelled and with our ancestors' help defeated them."

"So you believe Jaffa vessels were destroyed here?"

"It is not a matter of belief. Enterprise, recall all materials used constructing Ha'Tak class vessels and compare them to the data from the debris field."

A hologram shimmered in existence beside Commander Worf. It was the avatar of ship's AI.

"The base elements are consistent with Ha'Tak class vessels."

"How many were they?" Major Connor McKay asked.

"Twelve ships," Enterprise's avatar replied.

"How long ago?"

"Dispersion pattern suggests the event took place four standard months ago."

Major Connor McKay frowned at once. If this happened four months ago then what did the sensors register as a disturbance? "What is the source of the detected disturbance?"

"My analysis shows an explosion four thousand kilometers away."

"Enhance view."

The view screen readjusted.

"Is that a ship?" Commander Riker asked squinting to see well.

"Or part of a ship!" Captain Picard proposed.

"You're right and wrong." The avatar said.

"Clarify!"

"It is a Pel'tak." Major Connor McKay replied instead. "The Pel'Tak is the bridge of a Ha'Tak. Enterprise, is it intact?"

"There is breathable atmosphere aboard, yes." The avatar replied.

"So what did explode?" Commander Riker inquired.

"The rest of the ship," The avatar answered.

"And the bridge survived?"

"This bridge appears to have been reinforced with keron."

"Key-what?"

"Are you certain?" Major Connor McKay asked.

"Positive!"

Major Connor McKay did not give them any explanation. Keron! "Enterprise, tell Colonel Scott of the find and tell her to meet me onboard the Pel'tak."

"Yes, Major,"

"Major, where are you going?" Captain Picard asked.

"I'm going over there, Captain. You will stay here." Major Connor McKay said firmly. Reaching the turbo lift he turned around and added. "And yes this is an order, Captain!"

* * *

Major Connor McKay passed by the locker room and put on the space suit. He reached transporter six and stood on the pad. Enterprise's avatar activated the transport sequence and seconds later Major McKay materialized onboard the Pel'tak.

The air was breathable but the tricorder indicated a low-level radiation. Major Connor McKay closed his helmet just to be on the safe side. A shimmering sound indicated Colonel Chloë Scott had just materialized as well.

"What do we have?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." He replied while moving to the controls.

"Your avatar mentioned keron?"

"Yes, he did."

"Isn't that the base part of Replicator's technology?"

"And of Asgard as well,"

"So what is it doing on a Jaffa vessel?"

"I don't think this is a Jaffa vessel."

"But you told them?"

"I know what I told them." Major Connor McKay replied curly. He activated the console and monitored the flaw of data.

"What is it?" Colonel Chloë Scott asked when she saw wrinkles appear on his forehead.

"Oh, this is so not good." He replied.

"What? What is it?"

* * *

**To be continued…**

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	13. Diabolic Plan

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Diabolic Plan**

"What?" Colonel Chloë Scott repeated. Major Connor McKay head shaking kept muttering under breathe – this is so not good. Losing her patience with the lack of answer, she moved to the console and took a peek. Connor was right in his assessment. This was not good at all.

"What are we going to do?" Colonel Chloë Scott asked.

Major Connor McKay did not reply. His eyes stayed transfixed at the screen. This was bad news by any standards. But what was its meaning well there was only one to find out.

"Download the contents and hope for a discovery."

Colonel Chloë Scott looked at him. "If Senior was any indication it is more than likely it will be heavily encrypted."

"In Ancient, yes, I know but we are experts in it."

"Knowing Anubis, I would not be so certain."

"Also possible, but we don't have a choice. These ships were not Jaffa. They are part of Anubis' fleet."

"It doesn't explain why there are in pieces."

"No, it doesn't. But this Pel'tak is all that is left from the fleet. Perhaps Junior forgot he reinforced it with keron."

"Or he left it purposefully behind."

"I doubt that." Major Connor McKay said and then elaborated. "It is tactically unsound."

"Why does the debris include parts from other ships?"

"Diversion,"

"Whatever the reason we must discover it."

"I agree."

* * *

A shimmering sound let them know someone materialized aboard. They turned around and sighed with relief. It was the avatar of the Enterprise.

"Do you have something to add, Enterprise?"

"Affirmative," The avatar replied. "I picked up amidst the debris the reason for the explosion – an Alk'esh. Parts of it are still intact."

"Parts of it?" Colonel Chloë Scott repeated hoping the avatar would elaborate.

"My analysis suggests the scout ship rammed into what was left of this Ha'Tak."

"What?" Colonel Chloë Scott exclaimed perplexed. "Why would Anubis sent a scout to blow up a Ha'Tak class vessel?"

"It is possible he remembered the upgrade he made." Major Connor McKay said. He then had an epiphany. "Enterprise, the explosion is recent? It is the one we picked up."

"Affirmative, my analysis suggests it happened when I picked it up the first time. The ship was on autopilot and rigged to explode."

"But he obviously underestimated the blast yield." Major Connor McKay reasoned. "We have to go there."

"Go?" Colonel Chloë Scott raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, there is still a chance its database survived."

"Not necessarily,"

"Well, yeah, actually,"

"How can you be certain?"

"Anubis sent it to destroy the Ha'Tak. He was obviously expecting everything will blow up thus leaving no trace."

"Oh,"

"Enterprise, transport us there."

* * *

The avatar nodded and a second later they materialized inside the scout ship. The pilot seat and its controls surprisingly have survived the impact though not the window.

"How bad is it?" Colonel Chloë Scott asked.

Major Connor McKay tools in hand examined the controls. The damage was extensive but the memory core was intact. He pulled away with a smile. "The data core is intact."

"You really believe he would leave important data in it?"

"True, I wouldn't either but he did not expect it would survive the impact. It is also possible he did it in a hurry. Either way it doesn't matter."

"He had plenty of time."

"Maybe or maybe not," Major Connor McKay said and took out the entire core. "We are ready. Take this with you."

"Why me?"

"I don't know to answer uncomfortable questions aboard the Enterprise. The crew is inquisitive and for the time being they will stay in the dark."

"Alright,"

Major Connor McKay returned on the Enterprise. He arrived on the bridge.

"Ensign Sito, set a course for the Sigma Site."

"Yes, sir,"

Major Connor McKay felt Captain Picard's gaze boring a hole into his back. He was certain they wanted to know everything but he couldn't tell them. Not yet, he first had to discuss this with the Atlantean council.

Enterprise jumped to hyperspace and three hours later arrived at the Sigma Site. Major Connor McKay disembarked quickly and headed for the debriefing room reserved only for the SGC's staff.

* * *

Colonel Teyla Sheppard, Chloë Scott and Captain Dex waited there already. They did not understand the major's strange behavior. So far they divulged everything to their Federation friends.

"Connor, what is going on?" Colonel Teyla Sheppard asked when he entered.

"I don't know yet." He replied and took the scout's data core. "I will know more when I finish examining this."

"I meant why is the Federation excluded from this meeting?" Colonel Teyla Sheppard clarified.

"I have my reasons."

"Which are?"

"He doesn't trust them." Colonel Chloë Scott replied instead.

"Connor, we talked about this." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said.

"You said it yourself they are not ready."

"It has nothing to do with this."

"It has everything to do with this."

"Meaning what?" Colonel Teyla Sheppard asked sharply.

"I need to look at this core. When I have something to report I will. In the meantime excuse me." Major Connor McKay replied and left the debriefing room.

"What's with him?" Colonel Teyla Sheppard exclaimed looking at the other two.

"I think it is something he saw in that debris field." Colonel Chloë Scott replied.

"What?"

"I don't know. You know how secretive he becomes."

"Yeah, I do." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said. Concern was present in her eyes. Whenever McKay becomes secretive trouble inevitably follows. "Lara, keep an eye on him."

"I will." Captain Lara Dex said and left.

"Trouble, eh?" Colonel Chloë Scott said.

"Definitely," Colonel Teyla Sheppard nodded sighing deeply. "Here we go again."

"How did the crews do?" Colonel Chloë Scott asked changing the subject to something more pleasant.

Colonel Teyla Sheppard moved to the screen and activated it. "See for yourself."

"Oh, my crew failed miserably." She said.

"Do not be so hard on yourself."

Colonel Chloë Scott's eyes widened with surprise. "His crew was the best?"

"He did take the Enterprise's crew and yes they kicked our butts."

"Each time?"

"Yes,"

"In a row?"

"Four times in a row, yes,"

"He is good."

"Yeah, he is." Colonel Teyla Sheppard smiled. "Charles still has hard time swallowing it."

"I can imagine." Colonel Chloë Scott chuckled.

"You can't. He hates when civilians beat him especially the book-worm type."

"Well anyway he made his great, great-grandfather proud."

"That he did." Colonel Teyla Sheppard nodded. Suddenly her beeper beeped. "Yes?"

"Colonel, we have a message coming through Silver channel one."

* * *

Colonel Teyla Sheppard became serious at once. She left Colonel Chloë Scott and headed straight for the control level.

"Put it on!" She ordered.

The screen activated. A figure in silvery attire filled it. It belonged to a man in mid forties with inquisitive, vivid green eyes and black hair.

"Colonel Sheppard," He greeted with a smile dancing on his lips.

"Councilor Geiss," Colonel Teyla Sheppard bowed her head. She did not expect a call from the ruling council of the Pegasus galaxy. "This is an unexpected call."

"It shouldn't be, Colonel." Councilor Ryan Geiss said. "It would seem in your effort to educate the Federation you have neglected sending reports. The council sadly cannot guess what you are doing."

"My apologies, Councilor, but it is rather hectic here."

"Yes, the council understands this notion, which is why you would not have to worry about it."

"Why?"

"I'll be at your base by tomorrow morning. I shall take over this sad duty that eludes you lately. I gather this is not a problem for you?"

"Not at all, councilor," Colonel Teyla Sheppard replied. "We welcome all the help we can get."

"Lovely," Councilor Geiss said. "Storm out,"

The screen deactivated. Colonel Teyla Sheppard stood rooted. The councilor's last phrase was most intriguing – Storm and concerning. Storm is one of the sixty-four Atlantean cities and which houses Pegasus finest warriors among other things.

Colonel Chloë Scott was just as stunned when she learnt.

"He's coming with Storm?"

"Yeah," Colonel Teyla Sheppard sat down. "They must not enjoy being kept in the dark."

"No one does, Teyla. But why take Storm?"

"I don't know."

"It is one of the most powerful city ships we have."

"Perhaps they think we cannot handle Anubis."

"Or…"

"We are in trouble."

"A show of force,"

"Perhaps," Teyla said. "We will find out when he arrives tomorrow."

Major Connor McKay burst in Teyla's office. He looked quite distressed.

"Ah, you should come. Right now!"

"Connor, what is going on?" Colonel Teyla Sheppard looked up seeing his expression.

"We have a problem, a big one."

* * *

Colonel Teyla Sheppard and Captain Dex followed Major McKay to the briefing room. There they learnt of Grand Admiral Benson's latest action.

"Go send for the Federation officers." Colonel Teyla Sheppard turned to Captain Dex.

"And I'll go prepare." Major McKay said and left as well.

Colonel Teyla Sheppard closed eyes then opened them again. This is what happens one leaves a potentially crazy man free. She warned Earth's governments of that crazy bastard but they did not listen and now this was the result.

"Civil war?" Commander Riker exclaimed. "I thought you wanted to avoid it."

"We did." Colonel Sheppard said sitting heavily on her chair. "I warned Earth's governments that they cannot reason with that man but did they listen – no!"

"I just received updates on the situation." Major Connor McKay said entering the briefing room. "The grand admiral and his cohorts now control the major Federation installations on the North American continent, the orbital platforms, the lunar colony and the Jupiter shipyards."

"Where did he find so many soldiers?" Geordie asked.

"Apparently, the grand admiral was busy recruiting the scum of the Federation, and in addition to that his troops include the Andorian Imperial Guard, the Vulcan High Command, and some leftovers of the Romulan Empire." Major Connor McKay replied.

"Andorians and Vulcans?" Commander Riker exclaimed stunned. "I find this difficult to believe."

"Well, believe it or not, it is what it is."

"But they are the closest Federation's and Earth's allies." Councilor Troi said with obvious confusion and growing concern.

"He's been busy." Major Connor McKay reminded. "He's managed to convince them of his righteousness."

"Convince them of what?" Commander Riker asked perplexed.

"The conglomerations are the enemy what else." Major Connor McKay said and added sarcastically. "Elementary dear Watson,"

"The conglomerations represent Earth. They cannot be the enemy."

"No, but they can sign with them."

"You?"

"No, you and us,"

"Oh,"

"Regardless of what the convincing was about we have to do something about it." Colonel Sheppard intervened.

"What storm the castle?" Commander Riker observed sarcastically.

"The conglomerations would certainly do so even without us." Brigadier General Charles O'Neill said.

"You can't know that."

"I would!"

"That doesn't mean they w…"

"Will!" Councilor Troi intervened putting a hand on Commander Riker's shoulder. The latter sunk deeper in his chair. He understood it was pointless to discuss something over which they had no control. It was obvious the grand admiral had plunged the planet into a state of war.

"What are going to do?" Captain Picard having remained calmer than his officers asked.

"We will gather our forces and head back." Captain Lara Dex said.

"We…"

"Sorry not you," She interrupted him.

"What? This is our…"

"You are not ready."

"Colonel Sheppard, you can't ground us!" Commander Riker said supporting his captain.

"Reluctantly, I have to agree with Captain Dex. You are not ready."

"Will we ever be?" Councilor Troi asked sensing their feelings about this.

Colonel Sheppard and Captain Dex looked at each other. They have wondered the same for some time.

"We will discuss this another time." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said. "In the meantime, you are back to simulations. Dismissed!"

* * *

The Federation officers left.

"What?" Colonel Teyla Sheppard asked seeing Connor's expression.

"You know we can't hold them back. They can easily decide to do something stupid."

"I know. But this is the least of our problems."

"Why?" He eyed her. "Is it the councilor?"

"Yes," Colonel Teyla Sheppard replied. "Storm arrives tomorrow."

"What?" Major Connor McKay exclaimed dumbfounded. "Storm? Are you kidding?"

"No," Colonel Teyla Sheppard shook head.

"But…" Major Connor McKay was at loss of words but only for a moment. "Why?"

"He said it is because we don't call home often and he will stay to represent the council."

"Peculiar, this is not his style – babysitting, I mean."

"I know." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said sighing deeply.

"He's…they are up to something."

"Possibly,"

"Wait and see, hugh?" Major Connor McKay said shaking head. "Well, I guess we will find out."

"Don't you have something to look at?" Colonel Chloë Scott reminded.

"Right," Major Connor McKay nodded and left.

* * *

Somewhere in Delta Quadrant, the fleet of the Goa'uld dark lord Anubis cleaved through space to a small planetary system. The scout ships reported possible sighting of Anubis' targets.

The master mothership arrived in orbit and its bays opened unleashing waves of bombers and gliders. All ships quickly reached the surface and began their attack. Ground troops filled the streets. The population ran screaming.

"Milord," First Prime Aken knelt before Anubis.

"Report," Anubis commanded with steady voice.

"Our troops reached the governing building."

"Excellent, have them look at the records. I want them found."

"Yes, milord," First Prime Aken said and left his master's presence. He headed to the ring platform and transported down to the surface.

The populous of this inferior world had nothing with which to resist the might of the Goa'uld and he, Aken, marched slowly to the governing building. The few still resisting presented no problem.

He entered in the building. The Avidans acknowledged him with a bow of their heads. Aken reached the main control room where all information about new arrivals was.

"First Prime,"

"Have you located what we need?"

"Yes,"

"Let's see."

The database was extensive. They began combing through it. The orbital platforms of this world kept record of all arriving ships at the planet and this sector of space. If his mater's targets have come this way they will find them.

The search took several long hours but Aken emerged victorious. His masters' targets were on this planet though not recently. But the records contained everything they needed to find them again.

"Contact Anubis," First Prime Aken commanded.

The screen activated and Anubis appeared on it.

"Report,"

"We found them, milord. They were on this world four months ago."

"Not good enough,"

"Master, we have everything." First Prime Aken said with deep satisfaction. He pressed a button and the image shifted to a detailed scan of their ship. The targets themselves were also present. Their detailed looks showed.

Anubis' eyes narrowed. Finally, his elusive targets made a mistake. Dark smile appeared on his face. "Excellent work, First Prime!" Anubis said. "Download all pertinent information and return to the ship."

"Yes, Master Anubis,"

"And then destroy this world,"

"Yes, Master,"

First Prime Aken downloaded the needed information. He then left the building with the Avidans following him. He stopped before activating the ring platform and turned to the Avidans' captain.

"Place twelve devices around this wretched world and report to the ship." He commanded and then activated the rings. They swept him up to the ship where he headed to upload the gathered data.

The Avidans' captain returned shortly. He bowed at Aken. "The devices are ready."

"Detonate them!"

Massive explosions covered the surface of the planet below and terrible fires raged scorching the grounds. The once beautiful looking planet was no more. If something survived it would definitely seek a hiding place or a way off it. This world was inhabitable no more.

The fleet of Anubis left orbit and headed at high impulse back into the depths of space. Soon, the ships separated. Several rifts opened and the fleet jumped to hyperspace. Anubis stood on his command chair with a deeply satisfied expression. Soon he will catch up with his targets and this galaxy will belong to him. His victory was close.

* * *

Fifteen thousand light years from Anubis, the starship Voyager exited warp in orbit of a class M planet. The crew made contact with the planet's ruling race just a few days ago when they rescued its governor. His ship was badly damaged and they rendered assistance. In return the governor invited them for some R&R.

"Governor Sharma," Captain Kathryn Janeway greeted.

"Captain Janeway," Governor Sharma replied. "Thank you for coming,"

"It is a pleasure."

"You can land your ship on the surface if you like. We can help you patch it if something needs fixing. Sadly we don't have space facilities but on the ground we can certainly help."

"It is much appreciated, Governor."

"It is the least I can do. You saved my life and that of my people."

"Lieutenant Paris, take her down." Captain Janeway ordered.

"Ay, Captain," Tom Paris replied and having received the landing coördinates plunged the ship down the planet's atmosphere. He soon located the landing site and the ship gently touched the ground.

Governor Sharma came to greet them in person and escort them to the celebration area where his people had prepared a feast in honor of their guests and possibly new friends. Captain Janeway and her command crew enjoyed it immensely.

Celebrations over, the R&R began. The planet offered much entertainment and the crew dived in without of course forgetting their duties. Everyone enjoyed a few days of relaxation.

The ship needed a few repairs and with the help of their new friends and allies the work proceeded fast. Commander Tuvok and Seven of Nine supervised the repairs. They did not need much relaxation. They found their peace in work. At the end Captain Janeway had to order them to take a break.

Commander Tuvok found the mountains complex Saturga of particulate interest one because it reminded him of home and two because of the monasteries and their rich history. He got a guide, the governor's daughter. In many aspects, she was just like him – quiet to a fault and spoke only when necessary. She was the perfect companion for a journey of solace and meditation.

Seven of Nine also took preference in the mountain environment though in the wild areas. Commander Chakotay came with her. He argued no one should wonder alone. Seven had only slightly shaken head. She actually enjoyed his presence a lot. Her research on social interactions had shown he would be the perfect match for her so she wanted to explore this possibility.

Tom Paris took his wife B'Elanna on a tour of the capital city – Shmut. It had everything one would expect – pubs, rich history and even racing tracks that intrigued Tom more than anything else given his usual competitiveness and passion for speed.

Ensign Harry Kim and Captain Janeway enjoyed each other's company to a more musical ground. The capital city Shmut had an opera house or at least something close to it. The governor asked Ensign Kim to present some Earth musical piece and he could not refuse. His saxophone performance moved the indigenous people a lot. Kathryn Janeway stood very proud of him. The holographic doctor, the Doctor also attended the musical performance and assisted at one point vocally.

Mr. Neelix enjoyed the culinary side of the planet. He visited the most renowned restaurants and exchanged recipes. He got to even try cooking one of the planet's traditional meals. He succeeded on the forth try but his teachers were visibly impressed of how quickly he had understood the intricacies and delicate cooking methods.

* * *

By the end of their stay, the new-found friendship had to endure an unexpected test. Commander Chakotay and Seven came across something that bore a lot of concern. Commander Tuvok made a similar discovery.

Governor Sharma and Captain Janeway stood in the hall of greeting swapping stories when the three made contact with stern voices.

"Could you repeat that, Commander?" Captain Kathryn Janeway exclaimed.

Governor Sharma noticed the sudden change in behavior. The warmth withdrew from Janeway's face. Her eyes became colder. The weight of the world so to speak was back on her shoulders. All carelessness disappeared.

She looked seriously. "Are you sure?"

The governor did not hear what the response was but he did not have to wait long. Commander Tuvok soon appeared out of thin air like he did onboard his ship. He brought the tricorder device and showed something on it to his captain.

"What's the matter, Captain?" Governor Sharma asked.

Captain Janeway nodded at Tuvok then turned to him. "My crew made a curious discovery on your planet, Governor."

"Oh,"

"Would you care to explain it?"

"Explain what, Captain? I don't understand."

Commander Tuvok looked at his captain and said. "It is possible though not plausible they do not know."

"Governor, my people discovered Borg parts in two of your monasteries and one cave down the mountain of Shmel. They are inert but still. Care to explain?"

Governor Sharma sighed. It was one of the few things that drove races away from his planet.

"They are not parts, Captain. They are relics."

"Relics?" Captain Janeway looked at him bemused.

"Yes," Governor Sharma nodded. He stood up. "If you would follow me, please,"

* * *

Governor Sharma led the way. They entered the governor's building and headed up the main tower. At the top-level, the governor showed them in. The room was full of dusty shelves and crates. It resembled a library though it could be qualified as a museum.

Governor Sharma gestured them to sit down while he went to the back. He returned shortly with a large crate that he deposited on the table. Out of it he took other Borg parts. He then rummaged through his pockets and took out a small cylindrical device that he activated. It was a holographic map.

"Captain Janeway, when we met I told you our planet doesn't have many visitors. This is because of the Borg relics. Many before you have found them and well left spreading the word around. But it is not what you think."

"Then what is it?" Commander Chakotay asked when Seven and he joined them.

Governor Sharma sighed deeply and then continued. "A thousand years ago, the Borg came to this world and established a base. Um, not the way they usually do. At the time, the Borg were not hybrids…"

"What do you mean?"

"Each race begins somewhere as you are well aware. At the beginning the Borg as a race were different. They did not start well the way we know them today. They were humanoid much like you and me. They did not assimilate like they do today."

"Different?" Captain Janeway repeated. "How?"

"Our history says that although they looked humanoid they were not of flesh but of metal."

"That's not possible." Seven exclaimed.

"Are you suggesting that they were of nanites but in a humanoid form?"

"Yes," Governor Sharma replied. "They had no interest in us. My people at the time were primitive. It presented no allure to the Borg."

"So what interest did they have here?" Commander Chakotay asked.

"Well, they were here to mine."

"Mine what?"

"According to our history, the planes of Ert contained a rare mineral…"

"This mineral doesn't exist anymore?"

"There are a few samples of it left, yes. I will show them to you later."

"Let me get this straight, the Borg came to your world to mine a mineral. And once the mineral deposits depleted they what – left?"

"Yes, but they did leave relics behind. Over the years of their stay, they apparently experimented much. Some of these relics are all that is left of that time."

"Ha," Captain Janeway admitted this story was mightily intriguing. Perhaps studying these relics could help them in the fight against the Borg. "Could we have a look at these samples?"

"Yes, of course," Governor Sharma said. He stood up again and went to the back of the room.

"Captain?" Commander Tuvok despite his intelligence had trouble following her logic.

"It is a rare opportunity for us to learn more of the Borg."

"I don't think it would be useful, Captain." Seven said. "I was part of the collective and never knew any of this."

"Seven, it is highly possible the Borg are not so different from we are."

"I agree." Commander Chakotay shared. "They may not share everything with the Collective."

"This is highly unlikely." Seven countered.

"Seven, it happened a thousand years ago." Captain Janeway said. "We don't know this much about their past."

"Ah, there it is." Governor Sharma returned with a small container. He opened it and handed it to Captain Janeway.

Kathryn Janeway took a peek inside. The governor was wrong. It was not a mineral though it certainly looked like it. It was metal. She took out her tricorder and scanned it. She frowned. The scan was not perfect. They needed to check this onboard Voyager in more details.

"Do you mind if we analyzed this?"

"No, not all," Governor Sharma said. Relief was visible on his hands. He finally met someone interested in the relics. He met someone willing to go that extra mile and not run away.

* * *

Later on, onboard Voyager, Kathryn Janeway was in the briefing room. Seven and Tuvok had ample time to check the metallic samples. Commander Chakotay, Tom and B'Elanna, the Doctor waited patiently. The doors opened and Seven and Tuvok came in.

"Well, what did you find?" Kathryn Janeway asked.

Seven sat down while Tuvok remained standing. He activated the screen that promptly showed the atomic structure of this new metal and new it was.

"The provided samples are indeed that of a metal that is not on our database." Tuvok said.

"It isn't?" Commander Chakotay said. "We have all about the Borg. We have scanned them before."

"You are correct too, Commander, however this metal has unusual properties. Once I added it to our database, I discovered it is also part of the Borg parts already on record."

"How is that possible? How did it miss this one?"

"We haven't looked that deep." Tuvok replied and zoomed in the image. The reversed image revealed its original structure. It was nanites.

"Nanites?"

"Yes," Tuvok nodded. "The detailed analysis confirms this metal is in fact one of the base elements of the nanites."

"You said it had unusual properties. What did you mean?" Kathryn Janeway reminded.

"The metal possesses extraordinary energy absorption rate making it very resilient. There is also another part that aids in the assimilation process we have never been able to identify. With this metal present, we have part of the puzzle."

"Our visit to this world was not in vain." Kathryn Janeway concluded.

"No," Commander Tuvok nodded in agreement.

"Captain, how is it possible that drones like Seven are unaware of these things?" B'Elanna asked the very same question that was bothering them all.

"They are just drones, B'Elanna. They do not need to know." Commander Chakotay reasoned.

"It is possible there is more to the Borg that meets the eye." Kathryn Janeway added and became pensive. True they knew a great deal about the Borg but there was much they did not know.

"On the grand scale of things how is any of this of use to us?" Tom Paris asked.

"Know your enemy, Tom." Commander Chakotay replied instead. "Perhaps this new information could help us and other civilizations develop a better way to fight them or even take them out for good. The more we know about the Borg the better."

"I agree with Chakotay." Kathryn Janeway said. "If we find a way to disable their ability to assimilate we will cripple the Borg."

"Until they overcome it," Tom added.

"Perhaps, but it would still be a blow."

"Captain with your permission, I think we should check every relic in detail. It may show something of use to us." Commander Chakotay proposed.

"Do so!" Kathryn Janeway said. Of all the stops they made in this quadrant this was probably the most important. "Tuvok, Seven, continue your analysis of this metal. Perhaps we will find something that will help us understand better the assimilation process. Doctor, you will be working with them on this. This is a rare opportunity. We may have found a weakness and we have to explore it."

Everyone left. Kathryn Janeway stayed behind. She was pensive. They may have made the greatest discovery yet about the Borg. This discovery may hold the key to defeating the Borg once and for all.

* * *

Major Connor McKay made little progress with the encryption key Anubis used to protect his database. It seemed he used yet another dead Ancient dialect. Sadly his thoughts were not on the job at hand. He stayed preoccupied with the peculiar decision of the Pegasus Governing Council to send Councilor Geiss and Storm city.

Storm city was one of the sixty-four cities spread throughout the Pegasus Galaxy and one of their greatest achievements. It housed part of the knowledge they possessed about all known super civilizations.

Major Connor McKay called them super because their achievements were great. These civilizations represented the most powerful races in their area of space – the Asgard, the Nox, the Furlings, the Wraith, the Asurans, the Goa'uld, and the Ancients. There were of course other races' databases they have added over time but they knew very little of them.

Storm city was also their power base. It was the place they trained their soldiers and well everyone else, with its Academy renowned throughout the entire galaxy. It produced the best of the best – land and space troops, military and civilian pilots, all things marine, spies, assassins, everything.

Major Connor McKay could not figure out why the Pegasus Council would send their power base here. If they feared Atlantis cannot handle the current situation they would have sent simply more battle ships. Why was Councilor Geiss coming? It was puzzling. Teyla believed it is because they do not report as often as the council would want but he, personally, did not find this argument compelling enough to prove their decision.

Politics stayed one of the areas he was never comfortable with. And politics in the Pegasus were just as intriguing as on any other planet. Intrigues, betrayals, games, it was all there. I do a favor for you and you do one for me. He definitely did not like it. It tended to interfere much with their work.

Major Connor McKay thrust head. He focused on the data core he retrieved though he quickly realized he needed someone else's help. He tapped his communication device.

"Dr. Jackson, would you be so kind to join me?"

A tired woman's voice replied. "What do you want, McKay?"

"Anubis and a dead Ancient dialect," Major Connor McKay replied.

He did not hear an answer but a sound of frustration. It meant she would come. Doctor Jacqueline Jackson, also called Jack, could never refuse a challenge, a linguistic one. And every conversation with her began with a sound of frustration or annoyance.

She arrived shortly. Examining the room with her stern look, she sighed then pushed him aside and got on with it. She cracked the code soon enough. Major Connor McKay dived in the database. It seemed Teyla was wrong. Anubis was careless and made a mistake leaving a lot of important details in it.

Having skimmed through it however Major Connor McKay had little reason to rejoice. He discovered the plans for the destroyed Ha'Tak vessels and his smile quickly faded. Anubis laced not only the hull of the Ha'Tak but also the inner systems. At first this puzzled him greatly but then it was epiphany time.

"Oh, crap," He exclaimed. "An entire country of crap,"

The biggest epiphany hit him when he went through yet another directory housing his projects. It covered a new ray. The level of swearing then hit the roof. It was now clear to him what Anubis was up to and it was a horrifying thought.

* * *

He convened the Atlantean council in the morning. It was just in time as the councilor had arrived too.

They stood still waiting patiently for him. Major Connor McKay came in and he brought with him the Federation officers as well. He thought they needed to know as well though at first he had thought otherwise. But now knowing what Anubis planned they had to know as well.

"Major, we waited long enough!" Councilor Geiss said.

"Yes, and you did well to wait. It is worth the wait." Major Connor McKay replied.

"I do not believe we know each other." Councilor Geiss turned to Captain Picard's party and Admiral Nechev. "I am Ryan Geiss of the Pegasus Governing Council."

Colonel Teyla Sheppard stood up and introduced the Federation officers. "This is Captain Picard, Commander Riker, Councilor Troi, Dr. Crusher and Admiral Nechev of Starfleet."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Councilor Geiss said nodding at each of them.

"Could we focus, please?" Major Connor McKay interrupted. He knew if he let the councilor take the word they would spend the day in here.

"Of course, Major, please go ahead," Councilor Geiss said.

"Thank you," Major Connor McKay threw him a dirty look. He activated the screen. "A few days ago, we discovered the graveyard of twelve Ha'Tak class vessels. At first, I believed them Jaffa, I was wrong. These vessels belonged to Anubis."

"We are aware of this, Major." Councilor Geiss said.

"We were not." Commander Riker interjected.

"It is on a need to know basis, Commander." Councilor Geiss replied. "And you did not need to…"

"Do you mind?" Major Connor McKay raised his voice interrupting again. "We do not have the time for games. We have a serious problem."

"Problem, Major?"

"Yes," Major Connor McKay exclaimed belligerently. "Now if you would all focus please."

"We are all ears." Councilor Geiss raised his hands in defense.

"Anubis had the Ha'Tak vessels destroyed. He even sent an addition ship, an Alk'esh to ensure their destruction. Unfortunately for him it did not work and we picked up the explosion. This allowed us to make this discovery otherwise we would have been clueless to his plans until it would have become too late to interfere."

"Major, what are you talking about?" Colonel Chloë Scott asked.

"Anubis, this Goa'uld is a crafty bastard." Major Connor McKay said. "When we discovered the Pel'tak we found its hull laced with Keron. It was the reason the Pel'Tak survived the self destruct and the reason Anubis sent the Alk'esh to finish the job. Fortunately for us, both survived.

This is the only good news. What follows is worse.

I discovered Anubis did not only lace the hull with keron but also the inner systems."

"Why would he lace the inner systems as well?" Colonel Chloë Scott asked perplexed.

"I wondered the same, Colonel until I found this." Major Connor McKay replied. He pointed at the screen where a new schematic appeared. "These are the blueprints for a ray, a beam. It is not your ordinary beam though. This beam is keron based.

Kerons, for our Federation friends, um keron is an energy particle that holds together the base elements of the nanites. It is also what allows nanites to replicate."

"Major, where are you going with this?" Councilor Geiss' forehead wrinkled.

"Further analysis and a great of thinking on my part show a scary possibility of the beam's usage…"

"Major, spill it!"

"Anubis developed a beam that can effectively neutralize any keron based technology."

"He's going after the Replicators?"

"No," Major Connor McKay shook head. "His goals are a bit more ambitious."

"Oh My God," Colonel Teyla Sheppard exclaimed. "The Borg,"

"Sadly, yes, and I hoped that would be his only goal but…" And he looked knowingly at Colonel Sheppard.

"Connor, you cannot be serious?" Colonel Teyla Sheppard said and looked at him terrified.

"Care to share with the class?" Councilor Geiss asked looking from the major to the colonel puzzled.

Major Connor McKay sighed. "In early twenty-first century, the ORI came to dominate our galaxy. The ORI, Starfleet, are the cousins of the Ancients and ascended beings. They needed a leader so they impregnated a member of SG1, Vala Mal Doran. She gave birth to the Orici – half human, half ascended ORI. Her name was Adria. She had among other things great power and she commanded the armies.

Near the end of the war, Baal, the last of the Goa'uld System Lords, captured her. His goal was to control the ORI armies so he put a Goa'uld larva in the Orici effectively putting her under his control. If it was not for SG1's interference he would have succeeded."

"I'm aware of history, Major." Councilor Geiss showed signs of annoyance.

"Councilor," Colonel Teyla Sheppard took the word. "What Major McKay is trying to say is Anubis has a similar goal but with the Borg Queen."

"WHAT?" Councilor Geiss jolted out of his seat his eyes out of their orbit. He looked frantically at both of them.

"The only reason Anubis would spent time developing a keron based weapon is because he intends to face the only race that would give him unchallenged power over the galaxy. If he gets his hands on the Queen, the rest of this galaxy is toast." Major Connor McKay elaborated.

"Major McKay," Captain Picard said. "The Borg are not an easy target and…"

"I don't think you understand, Captain." Major Connor McKay interrupted him. "Anubis ray will penetrate the Borg defenses as though they are not even there."

"They will adapt."

"No, they won't." Major Connor McKay countered. "The ray will make the nanites inert. The Borg cannot regenerate their ships and destruction is certain with a couple of shots. Imagine yourself being hit by a paralytic ray. This ray will effectively paralyze you. Unable to move other than watch helplessly. Do you understand now, Captain?"

"I see your point but this ray will be ineffective against their shielding."

"I don't think you do see the point, Captain." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said. "Borg technology's base element is keron. It is part of everything they have including their defenses whether it is the hull or the shielding."

"Look, Captain, most beam technologies like the ones we have and those you did run on a wider specter allowing for greater impact possibility. They take into account the different frequencies used by defensive technologies. Anubis' ray targets the specifics of Borg technology. The Borg shield's base element is keron. This ray will effectively shut the interaction between the energy particles that make the Borg shields, the hull and the weapons." Major Connor McKay explained further.

"They will be defenseless against that. True, like the Replicators the Borg are highly adaptive but it would take a lot of time to figure it out without the specific frequency of the beam."

"And by then it would be too late." Major Connor McKay said. "Remember, Captain, his goal is not to destroy the Borg but control them. He will use this weapon to force the Queen out. Once she is out he will focus on capturing her. And once that happens we are very much screwed because Anubis will control the biggest army in the galaxy with highly adaptive abilities."

"And Anubis, Captain, knows intimately Ancient technology. Actually with all his knowledge and abilities, the Borg will become close to impossible to defeat. They will become a terrifying force more so than now."

"We cannot allow this to happen." Councilor Geiss said.

"No, we cannot."

"This presents a curious dilemma." Captain Lara Dex said.

"Yes, it does." Major Connor McKay acknowledged.

"Why?" Councilor Troi asked.

"We have to protect the Borg." Commander Riker answered.

"Yes," Major Connor McKay said.

"After we take care of Earth and Admiral Benson,"

"No, I'm sorry Commander Riker but we cannot afford to wait."

"We have to help them."

"Normally, I would agree, Commander, but I do agree with Major McKay." Colonel Teyla Sheppard said. "We cannot allow Anubis to gain control over the Borg and the longer we wait the more chance we are giving him. We simply can't afford this."

"Commander Riker," Major Connor McKay turned to him. "Earth can take care of itself. The leaders of the Earth's governments will not allow Benson to continue his terror. They will fight him."

"But they can lose?"

"Commander, even in the worst case scenario where Benson is in control of Earth is not even one ounce as terrifying as allowing Anubis to gain control over the Borg. Losing Earth will be a small price to pay. Losing the galaxy however is simply out of the question."

"If Anubis intended to go after the Borg why did he…?" Colonel Chloë Scott said.

"The Klingons," Dr. Jackson replied having caught what she meant. "I will say diversion."

"I agree." Major Connor McKay said. "I told you he is a crafty bastard…"

"…with a diabolical plan of mass dominion," Dr. Jackson added.

"Colonel, Major, gather all of our forces," Councilor Geiss said. "Tomorrow we leave for the Delta Quadrant. Anubis must be stopped."

"And we will go to Earth." Captain Picard said.

"With what? Shuttles, Captain?" Captain Lara Dex asked.

"Ships,"

"I don't think so."

"Captain Picard, I understand you have a ship in the Delta Quadrant – Voyager." Dr. Jackson interjected. Captain Picard and Admiral Nechev nodded. "They represent probably all of what is left of the UFP. If they come across Anubis and he gets his hands on them, the theme 'the devil to pay' comes to mind.

What is left of the Federation can secure Earth even without our support. We still have some forces left on Earth and they will help them. But there is no one now to stop the diabolic idea of Anubis. If he secures the Borg Benson will be the least of our problems."

"You assume the Borg Queen will not resist." Commander Riker interjected.

"Commander, Adria's mind is very powerful and it takes an equal or superior mind to control it. Baal was powerful but he was not nearly as powerful as Anubis. The Goa'uld larva doesn't need to fight the nanites. It will suppress the conscious mind of the Queen and then Anubis will have absolute control over the Borg. They will know everything he knows."

"Anubis is pure evil, Commander Riker." Major McKay said. "The Goa'uld thrive on people cheering for them, believing them being Gods. Through the Borg he will not only gain that but those poor souls…"

"I get your point." Commander Riker said finally understanding the intricacies of Anubis intentions.

"You have a go, Captain." Admiral Nechev said putting an end to Captain Picard's resistance about joining the SGC's forces. "We already have trouble dealing with one Borg ship let alone what they are suggesting."

"And Voyager needs us." Councilor Troi added.

"Then we go and stop him," Captain Picard ceded.

The full forces of the SGC and Starfleet gathered the next day. The fleet separated and jumped into hyperspace determined to prevent Anubis getting hold of the Borg.

* * *

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	14. The runaway Queen

**A/N: Here is the next chapter. I know I said the story will end with chapter 15 but I think the story will end in chapter 16 (at least for now). Anyway do enjoy and most importantly – review.**

* * *

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**The runaway Queen**

Some forty-six thousand light years from Earth, the sphere of the Borg Queen exited transwarp in orbit of a class M planet. The planet itself looked mostly deserted. The Queen took one look at it and memories flooded in. It was here she was first assimilated by the Borg all these years ago. She was very young at the time and with her parents.

She thrust head and focused. It was not time to reminisce of past times. She looked for signs Zero Complex Zero was here recently. Sadly orbital scan could tell her so much. She ordered the sphere to land. Her drones began landing procedures. Soon the sphere touched down and the Queen left.

They have landed just outside the Queen's old village. The buildings were mostly intact though abandoned for at least twenty years. Dust has settled. It did not look anyone has been here but she continued looking. The signs left by those she sought were subtle. She stopped before one building.

It was her house, her parents' house. She pushed the door open and ventured in. Her steps echoed on the floor. The living room was just the same as it was before – a table of Hekta tree (solid bark), two chairs cushioned with wool of Kennis (sheep like creäture), shelves containing books and research papers (not so intact anymore), a vase with flowers gathered from the nearby ravine (no more flowers though. The vase stood empty and cracked now), and a couch (now dusty and untended).

A door at her right led to her parents' room. There was a bed, a night table and a bowl usually filled with water, and a wardrobe (now filled with rags dusty and with holes). She left the room. The room opposite of this one was hers. It was mostly the same but it also had a small desk. She used to draw there. There were still some pencils.

There was also a drawing but it was not hers. The lines were too precise. She recognized the pattern at once. It is what she looked for. Her scan confirmed it was four days old. So they have been here and were aware of her wish to make contact. She took the drawing and analyzed it. It specified spatial coördinates used in the early days of the Borg.

She left her house and returned to the sphere. The coördinates entered the sphere took off and jumped to transwarp. Her thoughts raced as did her heart. She was returning to her place of ascension – home. She thought everything will be perfect now.

Back on the planet in her parents' house however there was a detail she had missed. It was next to the drawing. One of the pencils was not a pencil and although it looked made of wood it was of nanites simulating wood. It was the key. Without it she could not make contact with the complex. But the Borg Queen did not know that and the consequences of failing this test will affect the Borg in more ways than she could have predicted.

* * *

Sixteen thousand light years from the Queen's home world, the fleet of the Goa'uld dark Lord Anubis emerged from hyperspace. A squad of Alk'esh left the mothership and proceeded to an M class planet while the rest of the fleet returned to hyperspace. They arrived in orbit and proceeded to the surface via the rings' platform.

First Prime Aken looked around. This world of primitive people was one of the many possibilities of visit by his master's targets. His task was to set specifically designed sensors that will alert them the moment they arrive. Aken just hoped they had not come and gone yet otherwise this exercise will be pointless.

Aken noticed all worlds had one thing in common – hiding their technological level. The Borg in this regard were just the same as the Goa'uld and the Wraith. The people of these worlds had no other choice of course otherwise the Borg would come knocking. This world was no different. Orbital scans confirmed the lack of technology, advanced technology but Aken was certain they were hiding it well.

His scans also revealed an underground system of caves. His Avidans and he proceeded down one of the underground tunnels. The tunnels themselves reminded of the Tok'Ra tunnels though they lacked the crystalline form and beauty. Speaking of Tok'Ra, Anubis obtained from somewhere this beautiful technology. It had many useful applications and now laced with Goa'uld improvements even more so.

He used a focused crystal. Its blast opened another tunnel leading down. His Avidans and he proceeded. The air was perfectly breathable. Bless the Tok'Ra technology. They continued cautiously down. Their tunnel ended inside another local tunnel. Aken smiled. The tunnel had many lampions illuminating the way.

"Install the trackers at each end on the level below." Aken commanded. His scans showed that level was in constant use. With any luck the locals would not know they were even there and his mater's targets either.

"First Prime," An Avidan called.

"Yes,"

"The Alk'esh crew…"

"What about it?"

"They picked up a Tauri ship entering high orbit."

"What?" Aken exclaimed. How did they get here so fast? Aken's thoughts raced. "Maintain radio silence. We return to the surface."

* * *

Arriving at the ship they were just in time to see a small shuttlecraft emerge from the upper atmosphere. Aken visibly relaxed. It was not what he feared. He focused the scanner and it revealed the name of the shuttlecraft – Delta Flyer.

"What shall we do?"

"We shall shadow them but stay hidden."

Aken had seen the warp vessels of the Federation but was not aware they had one in this part of the galaxy. It was too far away for their capabilities.

The shuttlecraft landed far from their place but with the scanners they confirmed a meet between the locals and the Federation officers. This was good. They could now find an easier access to the inner city without alerting them.

"Take off and … on second thought, move aside." Aken took over the controls. The Alk'esh took off and flew low. Aken reached close enough for them to see the Federation officers with naked eye. He ordered the Avidans to shadow the locals' representatives. He otherwise would keep an eye on the Federation officers.

Aken was so glad he chose this approach. The locals led them to the inner city. Once inside, the local leaders took custody of the Federation officers while his Avidans and he headed to their target areas where they placed the sensors.

But some undefined feeling urged him to learn more of the Federation's presence here so he left his Avidans and moved closer to the building housing the meet between the Federation officers and the locals.

He reached the building. It was a simple enough one graciously spacey with long tables and wooden chairs. The Federation representatives sat on one side while their hosts on the opposite. Aken was right. These people hid their level of technology well and boy they had one. It was not as advanced as their Federation friends but sufficiently so. He came close to listen.

"Who are you?" A voice interrupted him. Aken swiftly turned around and saw one of the locals' order keepers. He cursed under breath. He did not have time for this one. He took out his Zat and shot him. One blast it stuns, two it kills and three it evaporates. Aken pressed the trigger twice more and the local vanished without a trace. He hoped no one heard that and he was right.

* * *

This area had sound protection. No one knew he was even here. He focused again on the conversation below him. The speaker for the Federation was an odd creäture. It had whiskers and lots of hair, mostly blondish.

"I, myself, am Telaxian and consider myself a part of the Federation."

The local representative nodded and lowering his head and whispered something to the one sitting next to him. They spoke briefly and then turned their attention back to the man with the whiskers.

"Ambassador Neelix, you speak well. The Quorum leadership recognizes it."

"Thank you Minister Shala," Ambassador Neelix said nodding.

"We shall give the goods you need."

"Thank you Minister," Ambassador Neelix again nodded and took a pad from one of the other Federation officers. "This has a list of goods we can offer as trade."

Minister Shala took the offered pad and passed it to the person sitting next to him. It appeared to Aken that the person next to Shala was of the ruling order of this planet. He continued his observation.

Minister Shala stood up signifying the meet is over. The Federation officers stood up as well and followed him. Aken kept them all in sight as well. His interest peeked when they ventured into a building where his scanner indicated advanced technology.

* * *

Meanwhile onboard Voyager, for Voyager it was in orbit, Captain Janeway was in her ready room reviewing the daily reports. Their last meet with an enemy force inflicted significant damage to their hull and they needed now materials to fix it. The crew worked around the clock repairing. Chief engineer, B'Elanna Torres requested crew members from almost all other departments.

There was a beep on the door. Captain Janeway looked up. "Come in." She said and the doors opened. Commander Chakotay entered.

"Captain,"

"Commander,"

He had a pad in his hands. He handed it over. "B'Elanna assures me in two days tops we can continued our voyage."

"They have made significant progress." Captain Janeway said visibly impressed of how dedicated her crew was.

"We still have a long way to go but with no doubt we shall reach it."

"How are the negotiations proceeding down on the surface?"

"Last I spoke with Neelix and Tom Minister Shala accepted our terms."

"Good," Captain Janeway sighed visibly relaxing. "Finding materials proved a bit more difficult this time. If we haven't come across these people it would have been much more difficult."

"I agree but luck seems on our side, for now." Commander Chakotay said and then left the captain's ready room.

* * *

"Commander,"

"Yes, Ensign, what is it?"

Ensign Harry Kim was at his post. "Sensors pick up an unidentified energy signature."

"Where?" Commander Chakotay asked his interest peeking.

"Fourteen clicks south of our landing party," Ensign Kim replied.

"When did it appear?"

"Soon after they landed but it took the system sometime to register."

Commander Chakotay frowned at once. It was an unusual occurrence. Their sensors usually did not have trouble with such things. "Is there some interference that could have prevented the sensors from picking it up sooner?"

"Unknown,"

The answer was also very intriguing and bore further investigation. Commander Chakotay moved to Ensign Kim's console. He examined the data and agreed with his officers. It was unusual. But even more so as the sensors could not tell them what was the source of this energy signature.

"Harry, prepare a shuttle."

"Commander?"

"We should find what it is and I shall tell the captain." Chakotay said and proceeded to the captain's ready room.

* * *

Ensign Kim left his console and headed down to the launch bay. He readied the second shuttle. Sadly beaming was off the menu as the high concentration of ions in the atmosphere made its use dangerous at best.

The doors opened. Commander Chakotay came in and so did the captain.

"Ah, Captain?" Commander Chakotay looked at her.

"I'm coming too."

"We can't both go."

"You're right, Commander, that's why you are staying though…"

"Yes, Captain," Commander Chakotay smiled. "Ensign, you have the bridge."

Ensign Kim shook slightly head but left the two. The shuttle lifted off, passed through the protective shield and headed to the surface. There were only rare occasions on which the captain and the first officer went on a mission together.

* * *

The shuttle reached the surface quickly. Chakotay directed it at the coördinates where the sensors picked up first the anomalous energy signature. The scanners were fully active and yet the source still eluded them. This was most unusual.

He landed the shuttle where the signature was first detected. The captain and he left the shuttle tricorders at hand. Chakotay walked in one direction while the captain walked in the opposite one.

The signature diminished in strength so Chakotay returned to the departure point. Soon the captain joined him. It was most intriguing puzzle. They walked forward and the signature increased in strength. They continued walking until they reached the foot at the closest hill where there was an opening in the rock.

They looked at each other and ventured in this time phasers in hand. One can never be too careful. The signature's strength increased exponentially.

"We are close." Chakotay informed though it was self obvious.

Soon they reached the entrance for one of the surface tunnels of their hosts. Chakotay and Janeway looked at each other and shrugging continued. They walked down the tunnel until they reached another aperture. This aperture however was not part of the tunnel system of the locals. It looked newly formed.

The energy signature's strength was off the charts. They had found the source. It was a tunnel but most unusual one. It did not fit with the rest of the locals' tunnel's design. This tunnel was entirely of glowing crystals and it shot four hundred meters straight down.

"This is definitely the source." Chakotay said. He placed his scanner near the crystalline wall and observed the flowing data. "This is amazing. Captain, the crystals contain elements for air distribution, structural integrity field, and a solidity cause greater than most of our alloys."

"I can see that, Commander." Captain Janeway said. "But it is not part of the Quorum's technology. This is something else entirely."

"And it is recent." And this was what made it impressive. It was a tunnel formed recently. Chakotay tried imaging the level of technology and mostly its applications and they were many. "Captain with such technology…"

"I know the applications are many." Captain Janeway nodded. "But the question is who made this tunnel and why?"

"We go down we find out." Chakotay said.

The tunnel ended inside another Quorum tunnel several levels down. Below them was yet another tunnel that revealed frequent use. Chakotay and Captain Janeway looked at each other. It appeared whoever made the crystal tunnel used it as a shortcut.

"I doubt their intentions are good." Chakotay shared.

"I agree. But what is their endgame?"

"I don't know. There are many possibilities."

"We should spread out. I will take right and you go left."

Captain Janeway turned right and proceeded down the tunnel. Her tricorder soon picked up a foreign object. She found it quickly. The object was not Quorum design. It was design that also her tricorder could not identify. It had several elements that emitted low-level radiation and a subspace signature, which she found unusual. She took the object in hand.

* * *

In this time, Aken was in the building with the fancy advancements of the Quorum when his communication ball activated. Frustrated Aken moved to a more secluded area and answered it.

"What?"

"First Prime Aken, one of the sensors changed position."

"Come again?" Aken blinked hard.

"It is no longer where we placed it."

"It is on the move?" He asked his eyes growing wide.

"Yes,"

"Someone must have found it." Aken said though more to himself. "Retrieve it immediately."

The communication severed Aken returned to his observation point but his thoughts dwelled in the recent development. Was it possible these Federation rats picked up their activities? His master though ordered him to avoid contact with the Tauri at all costs. He could not have possibly anticipated he would run into them here.

He reactivated his communication ball. "First Prime," The Avidan on the other side said.

"Inform the others that if they run into the Tauri they must not see us. Attack them from the shadows and keep contact to a minimum."

"Yes, First Prime,"

* * *

Captain Janeway called in Chakotay. He just came to her when the tricorder indicated the presence of humanoids nearby.

"We are not alone." Chakotay said and with phaser in hand took defensive position.

"They separated." Captain Janeway announced her eye pinned at the tricorder.

"They circle us. We will come between them."

"Yes, sadly there was nothing we could do about that." Captain Janeway said.

"They may…yeah, right who am I kidding?" Chakotay exclaimed. He thought the people surrounding them are members of the Quorum but he doubted that. The dots moving showed military precision. He did not doubt the Quorum could do that too but at least they would say something. And then suddenly the moving points vanished. "They vanished. Where did they go? Could they have beamed out?"

"Doubtful," Captain Janeway said focusing her attention to the each side of the tunnel. But even so neither she nor Chakotay saw it coming. They were both knocked out and fell on the ground. The only warning they had been a momentary spike in the radiation column of the tricorder.

The Avidans reappeared and stood above their targets. One of them took the sensor object from Janeway's hand. "What shall we do with them?"

"There is no time. We have to leave. Keep your lives Tauri, for now!" One of the other Avidans said and gave Chakotay a nice kick in the abdomen. Their scanners revealed the presence of the locals and had no choice but leave.

They left just in time. On the other side, the locals crawled. "Seal the Tok'Ra tunnel." He said as they retreated in it. One of the Avidans used another focused crystal that promptly began destroying the tunnel they were in. By time the Quorum rats reach that area the Tok'Ra tunnel would have never existed.

They informed First Prime Aken of the unfortunate development. He was not pleased but understood the circumstances. He himself did not expect to run into the Tauri at this juncture anyway. He ordered all to return to the Alk'esh and stay there. Their presence was now at risk but if they lay low they will avoid exposure.

Aken stayed at his place to see the further development of this unfortunate incident. He thought it useful to discover how the Tauri got wind of the sensors they placed and if they found more and how to avoid such discoveries in the future.

* * *

Captain Janeway regained consciousness. She was in a med facility and Commander Chakotay was on the other biobed. She noticed posted guards outside their room. Their weapons were no longer with them. They were prisoners that much was clear. Logically they had some explaining to do.

"Chakotay," She called and the commander stirred.

He sat up and looked around. His head hurt a lot as did his abdomen. He lifted his shirt and saw the area bruised. It seemed whoever knocked them out gave him a kick. He just hoped whoever gave him the kick has been apprehended as well.

"Where are we?"

"I'd say the medical area." Captain Janeway replied. "How do you feel?"

"Sore and pissed off."

"I can relate."

"Ah, the prisoners are awake." A Quorum representative walked in followed closely by the guards.

"Prisoners?" Chakotay looked up at him.

"Yes, we found you in a restricted area."

"Listen," Captain Janeway began but the Quorum representative made the gesture for silence.

"Everything you say can and will be used against you. There is no excuse for this unprovoked attack. You speak with the Quorum's high council where you will get the opportunity to offer your defense. Take them away."

Captain Janeway and Chakotay had no choice but keep quiet and follow the local authorities as they were in trouble and a big one. Of course their defense or so they thought was perfect.

* * *

One Avidan joined Aken. "We retook possession of the sensors and placed them elsewhere."

"Why?" Aken asked.

"The first tunnels are restricted areas. They do not have the purpose we thought. We placed them where they would serve our purpose better."

"Good," Aken nodded approvingly. "And the Tauri?"

"They will face justice for entering inexplicably a restricted area. We removed the Tok'Ra tunnel."

"Excellent work," Aken smiled darkly. "We can make our way to the Alk'esh. The Quorum and the Tauri have now a different occupation and we can slip through unnoticed."

The Avidan and Aken left the area and returned to their ship. Just as predicted the Tauri vessel focused all of its attention to the problem at hand. The Alk'esh rose up from the surface and cloaked immediately. Leaving the atmosphere though, Aken took detailed surface readings of the Tauri ship and then jumped to hyperspace. They accomplished their task here with flying colors.

* * *

Thirty thousand light years away from the Quorum world, the sphere of the Borg Queen emerged from transwarp. There was nothing particularly intriguing in this area other than a class Four nebula. The sphere entered the nebula and began its vigil. The ship of Zero Complex Zero was soon to come.

She was not wrong. The ship of the creators soon arrived. They registered its approach. It was huge and completely unlike a Borg ship. It resembled a fish. The creator's ship scanned the nebula and then inexplicably her sphere detected balls of light that left the ship and headed straight for them.

The balls of light were actually torpedoes. They reached the sphere and penetrated its defenses like they were nonexistent. The level of damage was beyond description.

"Establish communication," The Borg Queen ordered. "I'm the Queen of the Borg…" The rest of her sentence drowned in more explosions. The only answer she received was a request for identification and a key. The Queen frowned at once. She had the first but not the last. "There was no key…"

"Sedition is not tolerated, traitor." It was the only answer and then more balls followed.

The Queen understood she missed something. How did she miss the key? But now that was irrelevant. The creators saw her as an enemy and under normal circumstances she would have let them destroy her but she couldn't. She ordered the sphere to jump to transwarp. Her drones however did not obey her command.

The constant flow of voices in her head disappeared. There was only silence now. The drones around her fell lifelessly. She was no connected to them no longer. She was no longer part of the Collective. She felt so alone that it almost paralyzed her. Her thoughts of individuality resurfaced.

But she was the Queen of the Borg for a reason. They picked her up among all the other drones because she cared for them. She was not about to give up even in the face of her creators' wrath. She picked herself up and reached the control consoles. She activated the transwarp engines and jumped the ship.

This unforeseen development changed her plans. She had now very little options. The Borg Collective faced a threat of great size and there were only few that could help them. The Borg Queen saw only one solution – Voyager. She had to seek them and ask for their help. Of course she knew the risks and the very great possibility they would say no. But there was no one else capable of helping.

* * *

Back at the Quorum home world, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay spent a lot of time trying to explain what happened. It took time as the unknown perpetrators had removed their presence completely, well almost completely, and thus the trust factor was very low.

"Captain Janeway, this is ridiculous." Minister Shala objected. "First you tell us you detected an anomaly that you tracked to the surface entrance of the Section One tunnels. Then you followed it and found a just built-in tunnel using crystalline technology that led you four hundred metras down to Section Six tunnel system.

And while everything sounds perfectly logical there is one wrinkle. There is no such tunnel discovered by our security forces. There are no sensors devices that you claim found anywhere in Section Six's system.

How did you enter Section Six, Captain? And why were you there?"

"We told you already." Commander Chakotay exclaimed rather frustrated.

"You have no proof of that, Commander." Minister Shala said. His face did not show any signs he believed a word of what they said. "You used our friendship to gain access to our technology behind our backs."

"That is not true." Commander Chakotay countered.

"And we can prove it had you let us finish our explanation." Captain Janeway said diplomatically calm.

"You have proof of your ridiculous claim?" Minister Shala eyed her suspiciously.

"Yes, we do."

"You said it yourself Minister." Commander Chakotay continued. "You will allow for a fair trial?" Chakotay was actually pleased the meet was before the entire Quorum. It is difficult to say no when your own system is at stake.

Minister Shala exhaled deeply. "Very well, the council shall allow you to prove your claim."

"Thank you, Minister Shala," Captain Janeway said. "If you can have our tricorders returned to us."

"Of course,"

The officials handed the devices back to the captain. The data was still there. There was of course still much unexplained but the recorded data was all the proof they had and needed. It was unfortunate most of the evidence was not present but in life there were many disappointments. The unknown perpetrators did their job well and in doing so framed them perfectly.

"If you would now return with us to the area, where you found us, I shall be able to explain better."

"Of course, let's go."

* * *

They reached the place where they were found. The tunnel was not there but Chakotay and Tuvok got on scanning the area. And soon they discovered residual traces of the tunnel. They were very subtle and damn near impossible to detect.

"This is a fluke, Commander." Minister Shala argued.

"I don't think so." Commander Chakotay countered. "This tunnel leaves a particulate energy signature that differs greatly from your tunneling techniques. And if you have one of your men go where we entered Section One they will find the same energy signature."

Minister Shala ceded as he found this argument compelling enough. The report he received shortly confirmed Commander Chakotay's claim. Still it maddened him knowing there is such a technology that allows cutting through the earth with such ease and precision.

Minister Shala then took the data from the Federation's tricorders and entered it into their system. The simulation revealed the formation of a tunnel that pierced the rock four hundred meters creating perfect tunnel with breathable atmosphere breaching the first tunnel and the one they found them in later.

The energy decay rate revealed also how quickly that tunnel collapsed leaving only a fluke of particles that remotely hinted at its existence. Without the readings taken by the tricorders they would have never known of the tunnel's existence. All this though spoke of level of technology way beyond theirs.

The data in the tricorders also showed the elements used in the sensors device. Those elements were not native to their planet. But with that data they calibrated their internal sensors and soon discovered sixteen devices placed at various locations throughout the habitat tunnels. Sadly these devices were irremovable as were mostly linked to several power conduits. A forced removal will create multiple problems.

"The Quorum owes you an apology, Captain." Minister Shala said.

"No apology is necessary, Minister. We were both duped very convincingly."

"I agree. But what are the purposes of these devices?" He asked.

"I wish I knew. We need more time to analyze them."

"We shall help with what we can."

* * *

A fish-shaped ship emerged in high orbit of the Quorum home world two weeks later. It waited for the Federation ship Voyager to leave and thus stayed cloaked. The crew of the ship wondered what Voyager's mission to this world was. Soon Voyager jumped to warp and the fished shaped ship sent their envoys to the surface.

There they discovered in the database most disturbing news. Unknown perpetrators had created a tunnel using a familiar technology penetrating secure levels. The envoys returned quickly to their ship.

"What is it?" Master Berth asked the envoys. Berth was the leader of this cell of Borg creators. They were in many aspects like their creators the Ancients. They had an interactive environment.

"We discovered the presence of Tok'Ra crystal technology." The envoy replied.

Master Berth frowned. They emulated their creators in every aspect. "Voyager?"

"Negative – unknown perpetrators," The envoy replied and downloaded their discovery into the data banks.

Master Berth was now even more concerned. No perpetrators detected by Voyager's command crew and yet they knocked them out. The attack did not involve blasts from far so it was at close proximity. But if no one saw them then…the answer was obvious – a cloaking field, a personal cloaking field. And this only few used – Jaffa and their masters – the parasitic Goa'uld. And there was something else. There were devices with one sole purpose – to detect nanites presences – their presence.

"Inform the central of this unfortunate development," Master Berth commanded. "We have Goa'uld presence in the galaxy."

"That is hardly possible. They were wiped out."

"Apparently we missed some." Master Berth concluded. "Perhaps that's what the Borg Queen wanted to communicate."

"She did not present the key. Her motives remain obscure."

"We shall see what her next move is." Mater Berth said.

"Central orders us to return immediately."

"Jump the ship."

The Borg creators' fish shaped ship left orbit and jumped back to hyperspace. And it headed back to the central command of the Replicators in the void between the galaxies. They had now bigger problem than the humans – the Goa'uld.

* * *

Four weeks later, Voyager dropped out of warp in a remote sector where they picked up a Borg distress signal. Captain Janeway found it intriguing and worth exploring. Nevertheless, the ship readied for battle as there was a possibility of a trap.

"Captain, sensors pick up a Borg Sphere – a million kilometers away at coördinates four six nine by four two-three by six one." Ensign Kin informed.

"A sphere?" Captain Janeway said looking at her console for the data. "Seven, what type of sphere is that?"

Seven of Nine took one look and stepped backwards. It was hardly possible but the truth stared back at her.

"Seven?"

"Um," Seven swallowed and then answered in her steady voice. "It is a class Twelve battle sphere."

"I don't believe we've ever seen one before." Captain Janeway said.

"You wouldn't normally." Seven said.

"Why is that?" Commander Chakotay asked.

"It is the personal transport of the Borg Queen." Seven replied.

"The Queen herself, ha, curious," Captain Janeway exclaimed. "What would prompt the Queen herself to leave the Collective?"

"Only a matter of great importance to the Collective," Seven answered.

"Harry, do you pick up any other Borg ships in the area?"

"No, none," Ensign Kim replied.

"What is the ship doing?"

"I doubt it does anything, Captain." Commander Tuvok inserted. "I pick up extensive damage on the outer hull and part of its internal structure."

"Put it on the view screen," Captain Janeway ordered.

The sphere appeared. The crew gasped. Apparently, someone beat the shit out of it. The ship had many holes.

"The sphere has sustained heavy damage." Tuvok informed. "Exposed to space vacuüm most levels are."

"What kind of weaponry did that?"

"Unknown,"

Captain Janeway began resenting that word. It was once again they come across something that is not in their database.

"But there is something familiar about it nevertheless." Tuvok interjected. "The sensors show one element." And he displayed it and everyone gasped again. It was one of the elements they discovered when they visited this small world about a month ago, the world of Governor Sharma.

"Now this is interesting and bores further investigation." Captain Janeway exclaimed. "Commander Chakotay, prepare an away team."

"Captain, we got a hail from the Borg Sphere." Ensign Kim announced.

"Put it through."

The earlier data on the screen disappeared and the face of the Borg Queen filled it in.

"Captain Janeway, I need your help."

Captain Janeway stood rooted and blinked hard. It was one of these strange times when the impossible happens. She clearly heard the Borg Queen say – I. It is not the usual way the Queen spoke. She used saying – the Borg or the Collective but never I. And her tone was the other unusual thing. It was not in its usual commanding or condescending form. It was a pleading tone.

"The Borg Collective is in great peril. I need your help. You are our only hope and salvation." The Borg Queen added.

Janeway stood rooted the first time the Borg Queen spoke but this time she stood completely stunned. She had very hard time assimilating the Queen's words. She did hear perfectly well – the Borg Collective is in peril. The last part though was by far more stunning – you are our only hope and salvation. She thought she could handle anything but this, this was something different.

At any other day, she would have rejoiced in the fall of the Borg but today was not this day. There was something in the Queen's voice Janeway did not know even existed – care and concern, genuine concern. What could prompt the Queen to express such emotion?

"I'm sorry what?" Janeway repeated. She needed to hear it again.

"The Borg Collective is in great peril and only you can help us."

"And why would we help you?" Commander Tuvok asked in his pragmatic way.

"True, Commander Tuvok, you have no reason to help us." The Borg Queen said and her voice fell to a whisper. "But if we fall the galaxy will follow us."

"This is presumptuous to say the least." Commander Chakotay interjected.

"You have every right to gloat right now Commander but…."

"I will hear you out." Captain Janeway interrupted earning perplexed looks from all her officers. But she knew best. Some undefined feeling commanded her to hear her out. "But it is on our terms."

"I surrender myself to you." The Borg Queen said.

"And your drones?" Commander Chakotay asked.

"I'm the only survivor. All the drones are dead."

Commander Chakotay placed the mute setting and turned to his captain. "We can't trust her. She can easily turn all of us in drones."

"I understand your reservation, Commander. I have it too. But there is something here unusual at work here. This is so uncharacteristic for the Borg. Something is at play here and it is our duty to find out what."

"Captain,"

"Commander, the last time the Borg asked for help it was genuine."

"True but we did discover who was responsible for it too."

"I know. But my guts say this situation is different. It is something in her voice I did not know even existed."

"I agree." Seven supported her captain. "There is something different about her."

Captain Janeway turned to the view screen and restored sound. "At the first sign of trouble, I shall have you executed. My doctor will place in you nanites inhibitors preventing you using your nanites. Do we have an accord?"

"Yes," The Borg Queen replied without hesitation. It was clear though she was not happy to hear they have nanites inhibitors. How did they make this discovery was beyond her. But it was also irrelevant.

"I shall have him come aboard and administer the inhibitors. Then my first officer will escort you aboard."

"Agreed,"

The view screen went dark. Voyager's command crew stood still rooted. The Queen did not object any of the measures so it was either an elaborate deception or she meant every word, and something threatened the Borg Collective's existence.

"Ah, Captain, we do not have nanites inhibitors." Tuvok pointed out.

"No, we do not, Commander, but she doesn't know that." Captain Janeway replied.

"Bluff?" Commander Chakotay smirked.

"Yes," Captain Janeway nodded. "Something got her around the twist. We have to know what it is. Make all necessary preparations."

"Yes, Captain,"

* * *

The Queen came aboard as agreed. She sat in the conference room and did not speak for a long time. She still did not know how to approach the problem. She knew they had no reason to help her. They would actually enjoy the fall of the Borg. So she had to appeal to their humanity side. And also convinced it is in their best interest helping them. Sadly that also meant she has to show certain aspects of the Borg to them they were never meant to know.

"So Your Majesty, what could prompt us to help you save the Borg Collective?"

"You provided help before." The Borg Queen said trying to buy some more time to find the right approach to the current problem.

"Only after you invaded fluidic space and brought a dangerous species out." Commander Chakotay countered. "They turned out not so dangerous. They just got a problem with you."

"Commander," Captain Janeway threw him a warning look.

"We are different and in the same time we are alike." The Borg Queen said. "We strive for more. Be better than we are. The Borg Collective seeks perfection through the assimilation of others. The Federation does the same though using a different approach – communities built over time…"

Captain Janeway admitted the Borg Queen chose her words perfectly. In many aspects, she was actually right. The Federation and the Borg Collective were not so different in their aspirations for perfection but the Federation gave a choice while the Borg did not.

"There is a new threat combing the galaxy." The Borg Queen continued and Janeway focused on listening. "We did not bring them here. Their weapons are so powerful Borg defenses are useless. They have not come for revenge. Actually we have never met them before. But they are here to conquer us and if they succeed you will inherit a problem bigger than even us."

"How is it that the Borg have not adapted to this new threat's weaponry?" Commander Chakotay asked intrigued.

The Borg Queen swallowed. She knew some secrets will have to go. "Their weapons, Commander, attack a specific for Borg technology element. This element is…" She exhaled deeply. "This element is the base element of our technology. We never had any reason to develop immunity against it. It was highly unlikely any race would know about it."

"Until now, you mean?"

"Yes,"

"And what is this element?"

"If you want our help you will have to tell us." Captain Janeway pointed out. She could see the Borg Queen was not entirely happy and comfortable sharing this particulate secret with them. But apparently the situation was bad enough for her to risk it all.

The Borg Queen stood up and entered the properties in the computer. It was however her turn to express surprise. Voyager's computer recognized immediately the element.

Commander Chakotay exclaimed finally realizing what great discovery they made on Governor Sharma's planet. "What?"

* * *

**To be continued…**

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	15. Revelations

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

* * *

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Revelations**

**Previously:**

"We are different and in the same time we are alike." The Borg Queen said. "We strive for more. Be better than we are. The Borg Collective seeks perfection through the assimilation of others. The Federation does the same though using a different approach – communities built over time…"

Captain Janeway admitted the Borg Queen chose her words perfectly. In many aspects, she was actually right. The Federation and the Borg Collective were not so different in their aspirations for perfection but the Federation gave a choice while the Borg did not.

"There is a new threat combing the galaxy." The Borg Queen continued and Janeway focused on listening. "We did not bring them here. Their weapons are so powerful Borg defenses are useless. They have not come for revenge. Actually we have never met them before. But they are here to conquer us and if they succeed you will inherit a problem bigger than even us."

"How is it that the Borg have not adapted to this new threat's weaponry?" Commander Chakotay asked intrigued.

The Borg Queen swallowed. She knew some secrets will have to go. "Their weapons, Commander, attack a specific for Borg technology element. This element is…" She exhaled deeply. "This element is the base element of our technology. We never had any reason to develop immunity against it. It was highly unlikely any race would know about it."

"Until now, you mean?"

"Yes,"

"And what is this element?"

"If you want our help you will have to tell us." Captain Janeway pointed out. She could see the Borg Queen was not entirely happy and comfortable sharing this particulate secret with them. But apparently the situation was bad enough for her to risk it all.

The Borg Queen stood up and entered the properties in the computer. It was however her turn to express surprise. Voyager's computer recognized immediately the element.

Commander Chakotay exclaimed finally realizing what great discovery they made on Governor Sharma's planet. "What?"

* * *

**And now:**

The discovery was not pleasant for the Borg Queen. They already knew of their base element though she did learn they learnt of it recently. This was a somewhat comforting thought but not much. She had to work with them to develop immunity. She did neglect to tell she was no longer part of the Collective. It was always best not to show everything.

Work however proceeded slowly. Actually it was even slower as Voyager's main computer core while very powerful did not have enough memory to handle something as complex as keron. The Borg Queen explained it as much as she could but as she was well aware their knowledge of this particulate element was very limited. It was only the Borg creators that understood the specifics better than even her. She felt it necessary not to mention them at all.

"Have you made any progress, Commander?" Captain Janeway asked Tuvok when she entered the Astromatrix's lab.

"I'm afraid not, Captain." Tuvok replied simply but Kathryn sensed the disappointment in his voice. "Voyager's computer core cannot handle the complex subatomic structure of the element."

"We have a problem then?"

"Yes, we do."

"Can't the Borg Collective help in this?" Commander Chakotay asked.

"I doubt the Borg Queen will let us get this close." Kathryn shared.

"No, she wouldn't." Seven confirmed.

"Can we boost the core's power?" Chakotay asked.

"We could if we deleted almost everything in the database including the EMH." Tuvok replied.

"This is not an option." Kathryn said.

"Couldn't we just link our core to the one of the sphere?" Tom asked.

"Seven?" Kathryn looked at her crew member.

"It is possible." Seven replied evenly.

"But uncertain it would work." Tuvok added. "The Borg ship suffered a lot of damage."

"Yes, which reminds me, the Queen did not happen to mention who did that?" Kathryn said.

"No, she neglected to mention it." Commander Chakotay said.

"Find out. Check the sphere records."

"We'll do." B'Elanna said. "Seven,"

"Sure,"

* * *

The fish-shaped ship of the Borg Creators, the Replicators, exited hyperspace in the void between galaxies and headed for the massive super structure where the surviving from the great purge Replicators made their home. The Ancients were thorough exterminating them but not all. Once they rebuilt the main Asuran city, Master Okian sought the wisdom to leave the Pegasus galaxy. Oberoth had objected but Okian ignored him.

The Replicators under Master Okian returned to the Milky Way Galaxy and moved to a sector away from the main Ancient routes. There on a dark world they made their first bases. With time advancing, the Ancients returned to the Milky Way and Okian decided it best to leave known space. Having gathered all materials they left the galaxy and established a base in the void between galaxies.

When the Ancients began dying out, Okian decided to return to the galaxy. He learnt of the Ancients' defeat from the wraith and a terrible idea came to his mind. The wraiths, these foul creatures, were very similar to them but had many flaws. Each person within their ranks though linked through a complex neural network in a hive mentality operated on its own. The Replicators operated in a similar way but what they lacked was the organic.

Throughout the years, Okian learnt that organics while feeble were a formidable force and there his idea took full shape. He would combine organic with nanites and create the perfect race in existence. Of course the task itself was not an easy now. They had many setbacks until they got it right. With the Queen on top, most of their problems found solution. The only trouble though remained individuality but soon they found a solution for that too and thus the Borg as everyone knows came to be.

Over the years, Okian kept a close eye over them. But his main trouble the Ancients was no more. They had cheated death and ascended. The resident rulers then of the galaxy the Goa'uld never ventured in Borg territories and thus the Borg prospered. The Goa'uld then suffered defeat from the humans, descendants of the Ancients, but this did not concern the Replicators.

Some of the other clans of the Replicators tried to set up a more permanent dominion over the galaxy but ultimately failed. Okian had considered revealing themselves but ultimately decided not to and he was right to do so. Over time, the humans and the gate network faded from history. The humans of Earth progressed but the technology they built was nowhere near their achievements in the past so they were no threat to the Replicators just the Borg.

Of course there were other threats in the galaxy. One of them was part of the great alliance – the Furlings. They knew well how to fight them and they had several altercations. Their descendants the Iconians did not pose a threat to the Replicators. They did build though a separate gate network that in many ways was better than that of the Ancients. But this network had only one gate and no counterpart and thus the return trip made the entire thing pointless.

The other race they had altercations with was the Dominion. At first the wretched shape shifters had the upper hand but Okian found a way to deal with them. He inspired the locals to rebel and hate them, and thus the Dominion's focus shifted. Okian also developed a virus targeting their ability to metamorph (for when).

There were of course other races using lesser propulsion technologies that proved a tough nut but in the end the superiority of the Replicators secured peace and victory. And for a long time no one bothered them.

The news Master Berth brought however changed Okian's mind about peace and the security of his race. A Goa'uld has come to the galaxy. With the Borg Queen AWOL, the Collective was in bigger danger than ever. The Replicators had to act and protect what they have built for over nine thousand years. Okian dispatched probes in the galaxy to learn as much as possible of this new threat. The Goa'uld always left traces of their presence.

Soon information flowed and it was not good. Earth, the home of the humans, was in ruins and while this was hardly surprising given their nature the rest of the news was not good. Stargate Command has returned as well. They knew enough to fight the Replicators. The Goa'uld was no other than Anubis, the dark god of the underworld. The only somewhat comforting news was he was not the same Anubis but that was all.

But the troubling side was that he focused his efforts in the Delta Quadrant. Okian saw no other choice but sent a signal to all Replicators' forces in the galaxy. Most of them stood dormant until called upon. He needed them to gather their full force and face the dark lord. Okian also learnt of Anubis' new weapon and did not find it pleasing. This thing, this creäture had found a way to fight them.

(Many may think that Okian's forces and those of Oberoth are the same but they are not. Despite the obvious fact Okian was different from Oberoth. He had emotions something Oberoth lacked. And yes, it makes it curious about why they chose to create a race void of all emotions).

* * *

Seven and B'Elanna boarded the Queen's sphere. There was no life there just lots of damaged systems. The tricorders however did not recognize the weapon used. The only thing they showed was residual energy signature.

"This is weird." B'Elanna shared as she examined the signature.

"It is not on record." Seven stated the obvious.

B'Elanna looked at her with mixed feelings. There were times she spoke the way Vulcans did and it was disturbing enough. She shook head and focused on the flowing data.

"B'Elanna, did you find something?"

It was the captain's voice over the com.

"We found the residual energy signature of the weapons used against the sphere."

"And?"

"We do not have it in the database." Seven replied.

"I begin to resent that word." Captain Janeway said. There was much frustration in her voice.

"I have the signature. I believe you'd find it interesting, Captain." B'Elanna said.

"Continue your search."

"Yes, Captain."

B'Elanna found a computer console. It suffered also damage. It was extensive but she got fixing it. The rest of the ship remained exposed to vacuüm so she had no other choice. Seven helped out.

What they found was not encouraging. The Borg Queen's ship stood in a nebula apparently expecting someone. Sometime later, a fish-shaped ship had appeared and entered the nebula. The two ships exchanged greetings and then for no clear reason the newcomer opened fire. The visual record showed small bright lights leaving the fish ship. They passed through Borg defenses as though they were not even active.

"What do you make of this?" B'Elanna asked. She was rather perplexed but as she noticed Seven displayed the same confusion. The question was who was onboard that ship and why did the Borg waited for them. It was not another Borg ship. It did not have the usual smooth Borg design.

"I do not know." Seven said.

"Have you ever seen a ship like that one?"

"No, it is not in my database either."

"I begin to agree with the Captain. I resent not knowing."

"The galaxy is still a big place, Lieutenant. There are many species we have yet to meet."

"True," B'Elanna couldn't agree more but still. It was obvious the Borg Queen knew this ship and the race controlling it. And yet, this ship or its race was not in the database. It was a curious contradiction. The Borg held the most comprehensive database of alien life forms. "But it doesn't answer the question."

"What question?"

"Why did the Borg Queen wait for them? She did not attack the ship. She did not do anything of what Borg usually does. If I didn't know better, I'd say…" B'Elanna needed not finish that sentence. This time Seven understood what she meant and she agreed. It was most unusual Borg behavior. They sent this information to their captain.

* * *

Back on Voyager, Captain Janeway reached Astromatrix where Commander Chakotay, Ensign Kim and Commander Tuvok worked on analyzing the data B'Elanna and Seven had sent.

"Ah, Captain," Chakotay said noticing her entering the room.

"Commander, what do we have?"

"We have completed our preliminary analysis of the residual energy signature." Commander Tuvok informed.

"And?" Captain Janeway waited expectantly.

"B'Elanna was right. It is interesting." Chakotay said. "It is zero point energy."

"Zero point energy?" Captain Janeway repeated and blinked, and looked at three officers for confirmation and they all nodded.

"Yes, Captain," Ensign Kim said. "We believe the torpedo that left it was small but it had a concentrated dose of zero point energy. Thus the torpedo penetrated Borg defenses with ease."

"It is not a word I usually associate with their defenses." Captain Janeway remarked.

"We believe the front charge neutralized Borg defenses and the rest spread equally on the surface it touched thus inflicting severe damage." Tuvok elaborated.

"Tuvok, the Borg ship looks much banged."

"Yes," Commander Chakotay interjected. "We believe the inflicted damage results from two hundred torpedoes."

"Two hundred?" Captain Janeway exclaimed perplexed. Usually Federation technology did not need more than ten fifteen, and sometimes even less. And the Borg had perfect defense against their torpedoes.

"I don't believe the torpedoes were bigger than an apple." Tuvok added.

"Tiny torpedoes?" Captain Janeway asked. "Who uses such things?"

"I do not have this information, Captain."

"So let's see – the Borg meet another ship that fired tennis balls at them – two hundred of them that made the ship look like Swiss cheese? This sums it up?"

"Yes, Captain," Chakotay replied.

"This is very unusual choice of weaponry. Most races use standard type size torpedoes not swarms. And a race that has the ability to master zero point energy can easily construct bigger shells. So why use the small ones?"

"We do not know, Captain." Ensign Kim shrugged.

"Perhaps, the Borg Queen can shed some light into that." Chakotay said.

"I will ask her." Captain Janeway said. "In the meantime, gather as much information as possible."

"Yes, Captain,"

* * *

Captain Janeway left the Astromatrix lab. Something here did not add up. Who did the Borg Queen meet? Why did she meet them? And what went wrong? She still found it perplexing the Queen would come to them and show such sensitive information to them. She was desperate that much was clear but still.

Captain Janeway headed for cargo bay two where the Borg Queen was. Janeway had thought familiar ground would serve better the Queen. And of course, she had many questions for the Queen. She doubted though the Queen would volunteer the information. Janeway figured she already revealed too much.

She entered the cargo bay and as expected part of it, the Queen had already converted to a more Borg look. There were entire panels glowing in green with Borg displays. The last time, Captain Janeway allowed this was three years ago when they had to fight the bugs from fluidic space.

"Your majesty," Captain Janeway called thus attracting the Queen's attention.

The Borg Queen appeared from a console. Her eyes narrowed. She did not like Captain Janeway's look. It told her she had more questions, more uncomfortable questions. But the Queen had to expect those.

"Captain,"

"Is everything to your satisfaction? Captain Janeway asked casually.

"It is adequate." The Queen replied. She did not want to make things easier. Whatever the captain had at heart she would have to begin first.

"Have you made progress about the enemy's weapon?"

"No, not yet,"

"I meant to ask…"

"Yes?"

"We took the liberty of examining your sphere's data. We found several inconsistencies."

"Oh,"

Captain Janeway frowned slightly. The Queen did not seem to object to them pocking around the sphere or at least she did not show it.

"I think it time we drop the pretence, your Majesty." Captain Janeway said and plunged into attack mode. "We know you met another ship. You did not fire at it. You did not try to assimilate it. You just waited. And then they opened fire and you ran. None of this screams Borg behavior. Would you care to shed some light into the identity of that ship? It is obvious it is not the enemy persecuting the Borg otherwise waiting for them makes it pointless."

The Queen had to admit the captain's logic was perfect. The sad part was she could not tell her what she wanted to know. True so far she had to show many Borg secrets but this is one she could not. That ship belonged to their creators. It was one thing to tell them of some vulnerabilities and another of the only way to destroy the Borg once and for all.

"We ran as you put it captain, because the ship suffered great damage and survival is essential."

Captain Janeway blinked. Did she deliberately avoid answering the question?

"Your logs clearly show you waited for that ship." Captain Janeway pressed on. "Why? Who are they? Their weapons use zero point energy. They crossed your defenses as though they were not even there. Who are they, your Majesty?"

"There are many mysteries in the galaxy, Captain. Consider this one of them." The Queen replied.

Captain Janeway stood rooted. There was something more to that ship and its owners. It was not the way Borg reacted or even talked.

"How do we defend against these zero point energy torpedoes?" She asked.

"You have the signature?" The Queen asked back.

"Yes,"

"Then you have everything you need," The Queen replied and resumed her work.

Captain Janeway understood the conversation was over. The Queen will not give her the answers she sought. This was one mystery that will stay unresolved. There were of course many reasons why the Queen would meet with another race's ship. Still, something did not add up. The Queen's abstinence was more than just puzzling.

* * *

Later in the day, the command crew of Voyager gathered in the briefing room. B'Elanna and Seven found something else of interest. The Borg logs also showed that the sphere did not take any sensor's reading off the ship they waited for. And this was more than just unusual. It almost seemed like the Borg protected the identity of that ship.

"This makes less and less sense." Lieutenant Paris shared.

"Is it possible the Borg have more than one look?" Chakotay asked the next logical thing.

"Doubtful," Commander Tuvok said.

"The Borg have only one look, Commander." Seven said.

"It doesn't explain the Queen's behavior though." Chakotay remarked.

"No, it does not." Captain Janeway agreed. "She knows the identity of that ship and of their weapons but I doubt she would share it with us. Seven, B'Elanna, did you look everywhere? Perhaps there is something you missed?"

"No, Captain," B'Elanna said shaking head. "We looked everywhere. There is nothing explaining that ship."

"Weird," Captain Janeway said. "Alright, we should focus on the task at hand. Help the Queen find the frequency of the weapons used against the Borg by this new enemy."

"Yes, Captain,"

Everyone except Chakotay left.

"Is there something else, Commander?"

"How far down the rabbit hole would we go this time?"

"I don't know. But she does make a good case. If this new enemy or race is as powerful as she claims we cannot stand by idly."

"There are many things she is not telling us."

"I know. But I think she already told us too much from her perspective. I'm sure under any other circumstances she would have never revealed this much."

"I agree, Captain, but still. We sail into the unknown."

"We do that every day, Commander."

"Yes, but at least we can see the way. Here we are in a dark tunnel wearing sunglasses."

"It is an apt metaphor, Commander."

Captain Janeway agreed with him. They flew blind in here. There were many questions and no answers. Speaking of no answers, the captain had noticed the absence of Starfleet's monthly calls and she could only wonder why.

"How many months have we gone without Starfleet contact, Commander?"

Chakotay frowned trying to remember. "I think over three."

"I can understand if there is something wrong on their but this pushes it. Don't you agree?"

Chakotay only nodded. True, Starfleet had not called. There were many reasons for that but since they made contact they have been punctual. With all the excitement around the planets they visited lately and the Queen of the Borg they had hardly noticed the absence of calls.

"Anyway, focus on the sensor logs of the sphere."

"You want to look for more answers to the questions?"

"No, this time we need information on this new enemy. I trust B'Elanna and Seven looked only for the answers at hand."

"I shall take care of it."

* * *

Over the next few days, Commander Tuvok and Lieutenant Torres linked the Borg sphere data core to that of Voyager. The information about the new enemy was there. It surprised them a bit. It was a strange contrast to the Borg cubes and spheres. The enemy used pyramid ships of various sizes, and a wave of smaller ships. Some, Chakotay determined were bombers and the others space fighters.

It was unusual combination though. Most races used their ships as primary attack platform and rarely needed fighters' support. This was so as fighters could not do much damage to the main ships. True, the Federation used shuttles but shuttles could do damage. These fighters however had minimal defense. Chakotay determined that a single shot of the phasers would destroy them.

The other ships, the bombers, could take a hit or several but they won't last much either. All this however made him wonder why the Borg had such trouble with them. The sensors gave him that information. Every enemy ship had the same type of weapon. It was a kind of energy ray. It was not continuous as most phaser type weapons but rather projectile based. And still this ray penetrated Borg defenses as though they were not even there.

Tuvok determined also the energy ray had nothing in common with the zero point energy torpedoes but was just as effective. The only trouble was the frequency stayed hidden and this was mightily puzzling. Borg sensors are the most advanced in the galaxy. He considered the options and it screamed signal block or sensor block (interference). The overall preliminary analysis revealed the need to look at this ray up right and close.

The signature left did not show anything they could use. This explained Borg ineffectiveness on identifying the frequency of the weapon and how to counteract it. It is very difficult to fight something that no one knows what it is. The residual signature had only partial energy traces.

"It is a problem, Captain, but it does explain Borg ineffectiveness to counteract the effects of this weapon." Tuvok completed his analysis and briefing.

"It doesn't help us, either." Captain Janeway expressed her disappointment. They had spent many days and had nothing worth of anything. She turned to the Queen. "Is there anything else you did not share with us about this enemy?"

"I gave you everything I have." The Queen replied.

"The only alternative left is for us to find them and engage them."

"It would seem so."

"There is something else, Captain." Ensign Kim said.

"Ensign?"

"I kept going over the logs and something did not make sense."

"Which is?"

"This enemy appeared out of nowhere. Borg sensors did not pick up any warp drives onboard the ships. So how do these ships keep attacking the Borg if they do not have warp?"

The Queen had asked herself the same question.

"This is a good question. Your Majesty?"

"I wish I had an answer for you but I do not." The Queen replied.

"Ensign, go over the logs and see if we missed something." Captain Janeway said. She resented this more than usual. Too many questions with no answers, it quickly became annoying.

"Yes, captain,"

The analysis of the critical element of Borg technology took more time than ever anticipated and yielded no results. It became frustrating. The trouble with the element was that there was no place within the Federation this element existed. In Borg territories there was only one little Moon that had it and it was already depleted.

"How do you procure this element if your mines are depleted?" Captain Janeway asked the logical question. She asked as Seven told her that the element is not something the nanites produced or could duplicate.

The Queen did not like this question. She wanted to help her collective but this question was part of the questions she could not answer. The truth was they received yearly supplies from their creators. The Queen did not know where they took it from.

Captain Janeway resented the lack of information and coöperation. She knew though the Queen wanted to help her collective. But the captain's questions made her uncomfortable. Janeway was right there was more to the Borg that met the eye. She figured certain secrets would never see the light and yet those were the ones they needed.

* * *

The dark lord Anubis paced in his Pel'Tak. There was still no trace of his targets and with all sensors he placed around the galaxy that vexed him greatly. The longer it took him to find his target the greater the chance the Tauri will have to intervene. He was certain they will pick up on his interest in the Delta Quadrant and sooner or later they would figure out his plan.

His Avidans already failed against the lesser Tauri. He punished them but did not kill them though his father would have. He did not kill them because he did not have many of them to spare. The Klingons sadly were nowhere nearly ready to take their place next to him. It takes time for one to become.

He faced a problem and had no solution for it. 'For now', he whispered angrily. He expected his enemy to make the first mistake but sadly they have not. There was one other way of course but he was not yet ready. His full force was still not ready for major galactic assault but perhaps he did not need it.

He could easily attack the Delta Quadrant. Yes, this seemed the right thing. He had to force his enemies into action. He had the element of surprise but now he need to draft the main plan. A dark smile occupied his face. Yes, he would attack the Borg planets and forces his target into the open.

"Aken," He commanded in the air. Soon the Avidan appeared and bowed to the ground waiting for his master's command. "Command the fleet to assemble. We will soon dominate this galaxy. But for creation to begin destruction must give."

"Yes, master," Aken truthfully did not understand his master's words other than the need of the fleet. He left his master's chambers and went to give the order.

Anubis smile grew. Soon, this galaxy will belong to him as it did long ago to the rest of the Goa'uld. And this time, it will last longer, longer. And every creäture in it will scream in agony and cheer their new master. Anubis enjoyed these little moments of revelation. Sometimes small is better. He did not need conquer the entire galaxy yet. He just needed his target in the open.

He walked to the console and called in the image of the galaxy. The Delta Quadrant still filled with many smaller races in every inhabited solar system. In the past the Goa'uld left many dark spots in the galaxy and never bothered them. This time around things will turn out differently. No more will a race roam on its own other than in praise of its new master and god, Anubis.

Black is the color of death in so many cultures but it is also the color of peace and balance, and so it shall for all eternity. Anubis thought it best before attacking to change the color of his banner to pure black. He ordered his Avidans to repaint the ships in black. Let all know darkness comes, perpetual darkness.

'It is time!' Anubis thought. 'Time of darkness ascends upon the unsuspecting galaxy. The rule of the underworld begins.'

Several hours later, the repainted ships of the dark lord gathered and ready jumped to hyperspace. Their heading was the Borg territories. There were many planets fully converted and he intended to attack all of them. It was time they met their master and learn of his greatness.

* * *

Commander Chakotay stood on the bridge of Voyager. His shift was mostly uneventful and over. He was just to leave the night shift when sensors picked up a Borg distress call.

"Report," Commander Chakotay ordered.

"Sensors picked up a distress call." Ensign Kim replied. "It is from a planet ten light years away."

"Call for the captain and the Queen."

"Yes, commander,"

Captain Janeway and the Borg Queen came together to the bridge. The past few days this seemed unnatural. They interacted almost like friends and it was borderline scary. Captain Janeway had reached some understanding with the Queen though she did not share what.

"Report," Captain Janeway said and Ensign Kim basically repeated everything. The captain looked at the Queen who had gone paler almost at once. "What?"

"It is a research colony."

"Yours?"

"Yes,"

"Lieutenant Paris, set a course."

"Yes, Captain,"

Voyager's nacelles contracted and the ship jumped to transwarp. One of the benefits having the Borg Queen was the upgrade of the engines. At first B'Elanna had objected but the results from the upgrade and Voyager's structural integrity's ability to sustain it had silenced her.

The ship ate the distance of ten light years quickly and it emerged from transwarp. The view was not pretty. The entire surface of the colony fumed with dark smoke and craters covered the ground. There was no sign of the attackers and no life. All stood destroyed. They had come a tad too late.

"Sensor sweep, Mr. Tuvok." Captain Janeway ordered. They needed information.

"It is the same as before." Tuvok replied. "Negligible energy traces, I'm sorry Captain. It is not enough for full analysis."

"I hated when you say that, Mr. Tuvok." The captain's resentment kept growing. This new enemy was very thorough. It challenged her crew's abilities.

"Captain," Ensign Kim called from his station. "There is another Borg distress call – two point six light years away and another four point six."

The Queen ran to his station and pushed him aside. She needed examining the data. What she found she did not like. "Set course – three six four zero by nine six seven four."

"Do it, Mr. Paris." Captain Janeway ordered as the lieutenant wondered what to do. "What is there?"

"It is our main research facility. It cannot fall."

"How far is it, Mr. Tuvok?" Captain Janeway turned to her tactical officer.

"It is six hundred light years away."

"And in the wrong direction, Captain," Commander Chakotay pointed out.

"Going home, Commander is not in our priorities right now." Captain Janeway said. "Helm!"

"Yes, Captain," Lieutenant Paris said and jumped the ship to the new destination.

* * *

Two weeks later, Voyager emerged from transwarp in orbit of a class P planet. Its glaciers gave it a dark blue hued look.

"Where is the research colony?" Captain Janeway asked.

"It is on the Western Grand glacier." The Queen replied. She moved to Harry's console and displayed on the screen.

"It is still intact." Ensign Kim observed.

"For now, you mean." Commander Chakotay said.

"Perform a continuous scan of the entire solar system, Mr. Tuvok. I want to know at once when and if ships come."

"Yes, Captain,"

"Commander Chakotay, you have the bridge." Captain Janeway said and gestured the Queen to follow her.

"Going to the surface, Captain?" The Queen asked though it was not necessary.

"Yes,"

They reached the launch bay and got inside the Delta Flyer. Captain Janeway prepped it for launch and soon they left through the aft of the ship heading down. The captain wanted to know what was so special about this colony and this time she will get her answers. The Queen has been more cooperative as of late but dry explanations she did not want to get again.

They reached the surface and landed near the entrance. Captain Janeway noticed the colony was not visible. She supposed it was underground that was a tactic unusual for the Borg. She and the Queen left the Flyer.

The Queen led the way. They walked in silence for nearly ten minutes before reaching a small crack in the glaciers' wall. From afar no one could say it was more than a crack but the Queen pressed her hand on the wall. It turned out a holographic ruse and a door appeared. They walked through and the familiar Borg corridors came into view.

There were no sentries present but this did not surprise Captain Janeway. She knew from experience anyone could walk undisturbed even on a Borg ship. The Borg attacked only when threatened.

They reached a turn and there was the first obstacle – an opening with a Borg shield. The Queen passed right through it and Captain Janeway had to wait until deactivated. Once done, she crossed the threshold.

On the other side, she saw the most stunning sight – large space carved in the glacier. She would have wondered for what reason if not for the insanely large docking facilities. Now she understood. It was a shipyard. She wondered though why the Borg built ships underground and not in space, like everyone else. But apparently the Borg had their reasons.

The ship before her eyes however was unlike any other Borg ship she had seen before. It did not have the same lines. It was not a cube or a sphere. Actually its look seemed very familiar and at once Captain Janeway remembered. It was fish-shaped. She had now some answer. The ship that attacked the Borg Queen was Borg after all. Commander Chakotay was right as well the Borg did have another look after all.

She also understood why she has not seen any Borg drones around. It was because there weren't any. The shipyard was fully automated. Large spiked hands moved on each side picking up, assembling and placing the different elements of the ship.

The Queen took the captain to an elevator. They entered and a flash of light passed before them and in a moment they appeared inside one of the ships.

"The Borg, Captain, we have many secrets. Some I cannot show to you given your confrontational nature and your wish to destroy us once and for all. This shipyard is part of that puzzle. It is also something even I..."

Captain Janeway stopped dead in her tracks and looked stunned at her. The Queen did not finish her sentence but it was not necessary. Captain Janeway could not believe what she just heard. The Queen had finally let a slip.

So, the Captain thought, the mystery surrounding the Borg is far more complicated than anyone could have thought. The Captain understood now why the Queen revealed this to her. She was afraid this unknown enemy would come for this place. Looking around, Janeway got the feeling it was more of sacred grounds than an actually building facility. There was no Borg technology present anywhere in this cavern. At first she did not notice that but now she did.

"Who are the Borg really?" She could not resist asking.

"It is a very long story, Captain." The Queen replied. "There is much about our past that resides in obscurity."

What did she mean? From everything so far, Captain Janeway gathered that the Queen should not know of this place's existence. She was certain of it now. This ship looked nothing like a Borg vessel. It was long and the shape of a fish. It had smooth lines and different colours. The corridors they walked in were of brilliant white mosaic, bright and clean. Light emanated from the walls but it was not obvious what made it.

The door locks were different as well. When they reached a door, the Queen waved her hand before the locking mechanism and the door slid open silently. The locking mechanism itself had a tight rectangular shape and size. It had also three crystals emanating with faint bluish light.

A question that had even Starfleet puzzled for long came to Janeway's mind. How were the Borg Queens selected and by whom? Why do you ask she asked herself that? Well, it was this place that made her question everything they knew of the Borg. In all their experience with them, they never really had an answer. And now, the captain stood in the 'holy place' of the Borg.

* * *

On the other side of the planet a massive disturbance heralded the coming of Anubis but Voyager did not see it. Hyperspace was sadly something the Federation database did not have on record and thus the sensors could not pick it up unless it was right in front of them.

The hyperspace windows formed and the massive fleet of Anubis emerged to normal space and spread around the mothership. Waves of gliders and Alk'esh left the hangars and proceeded to the surface of the planet fully cloaked.

"Milord," First Prime Aken said.

"What?" Anubis asked without even looking at his servant.

"Sensors detect a Tauri vessel on the other side of the planet in high orbit."

"What?" Anubis stood up and walked to the console. The holographic display showed the ship. Anubis' eyes narrowed. There was no riddance of the humans. They were everywhere these days.

And then something caught Anubis' eyes. It was reading on the ship itself. It showed Borg technology most notably on the engines.

"Now how about that?" Anubis exclaimed with his favourite human phrase. He pushed the sensors scanning the ship. It had also Borg sensors tied to its inner systems but not in the usual conquering way. 'Integrated,' Anubis thought. They had a free drone onboard. But the other reading was different. "Cloak the fleet and order the attack waves to return immediately."

Aken did not understand but he did not need either. He executed his master's command without a second thought. Shortly, the gliders and the Alk'esh returned to the ship.

"Take the fleet around the planet and close to the Tauri vessel." Anubis ordered.

The massive fleet circled the planet and soon came close to the unsuspecting Voyager.

"Passive scans only. They may have sensed us." Anubis said. He was right as Voyager's sensors swept through the system. They targeted the other side of the planet where Anubis' fleet was just moments ago.

"There is a smaller Tauri vessel on the surface." Aken reported.

Anubis focused. He found this intriguing. But his main thoughts were on the upgrade of Voyager's propulsion system. The first scans revealed the ship now capable of transwarp. It was the preferred Borg propulsion. Something here did not add up and he wanted to know what before revealing themselves.

* * *

Meanwhile on Voyager's bridge, Commander Tuvok continued examining the strange spike in the sensors. They picked up something on the other side of the planet but it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Did you find anything, Commander?" Commander Chakotay asked.

"No," Commander Tuvok replied.

"Keep scanning,"

"I'm Commander but there is nothing." Tuvok said.

"Harry, run a level three diagnostic on the long-range sensors." Commander Chakotay ordered.

"Yes, Commander," Ensign Kim said and got it. The diagnostic completed revealed no problems with the long-range sensors. "Everything is fine."

"Everything is not fine, Ensign. What was that spike? I want answers."

Ensign Kim continued examining the sensor log. The commander was right. There was a spike. He sifted through the flowing data. It was a sudden increase in cosmic background radiation but this could have many explanations. He probed further but the sensors did not report anything out of the ordinary.

"Everything is fine, Commander." Ensign Kim reported. "Sensors did pick up a sudden increase in cosmic radiation."

"What caused it?"

"Many things could."

"Find out."

Ensign Kim used the sensors to scan the area again. There were no more spikes or radiation increases. Everything seemed in order.

Commander Chakotay however did not feel optimistic. Some undefined feeling compelled caution. "Raise shields."

"Commander?" Tuvok looked at him from his console.

"Raise shields." Commander Chakotay repeated.

Tuvok obeyed and Voyager's shields came online.

"I see no reason for this action." Tuvok observed nevertheless. "There are no ships in the area."

"I have a bad feeling." Commander Chakotay said. The uncomfortable undefined feeling increased. "Harry, anything?"

"No," Ensign Kim shook head.

Tuvok continuous scan of the region however picked something up. It was a phase variance in local space. He examined further this anomaly. The variance was present at several places that were close to Voyager's orbit. He frowned as something did not make sense. Phase variance was an occurrence precipitated only by presence of a cloak field.

"Commander," He called.

Chakotay came to him and he showed him. "What is the cause of this?"

"There is the possibility of a cloaking field."

"A cloak?" Chakotay said and his bad feeling multiplied exponentially.

"But I am not certain."

"Be certain,"

Tuvok continued probing the phase variance. Something odd happened though. The variance disappeared. He looked for it but did not find it again.

"Tuvok?"

"The variance is no longer there." Tuvok replied.

"Weird," Lieutenant Paris shared.

"Show me where it was before."

Tuvok obliged. There were at least twelve places where sensors picked up phase variance. If the cause was ships then they surrounded them. One wrong move and they would open fire. The only thing they had going was the element of surprise.

"Gradually lower shields." Chakotay ordered.

"Commander?" Ensign Kim looked strangely at his commanding officer.

"I believe enemy ships surround us. They may take our shields as indication we discovered their presence but by lowering them..."

"We become easy targets?" Lieutenant Paris said.

"No, if they wanted to attack they would have done so already." Chakotay replied.

"I get it now."

"Good," Chakotay said. "Tuvok, simulate power failure."

* * *

Voyager's lights flickered and went offline as Anubis observed and then relaxed. They have not seen them yet. Still he stayed cautious. His fleet had come too close to the Tauri vessel and they picked up something. He could easily have them destroyed but this was not his intent. He wanted the reason the Tauri were here.

He knew there was a Borg base here, which is why he had come. He wanted though to know who upgraded their systems and why were they still here. It was possible the Borg asked the Tauri for help. It was possible one of his targets may have come personally and if so he wanted confirmation.

"Put some distance between us and the Tauri, thrusters only." Anubis commanded. He did not want his prey to know how close they were. If the Tauri did pick up their probing signals they were not showing it. But then again, the power failure, and Anubis realized the game was afoot. 'Tricky these humans,' He thought. They used the old tactics of playing possum and waiting for him to make the mistake but he could play that game too. "Keep a close eye on them but do not use the sensors again. Dispatch several Alk'esh to appear on the other side."

* * *

Commander Chakotay waited for something to give but there was nothing. He did not how many ships surrounded them. If the enemy figured out his tactic they were in a very vulnerable position. The minutes passed and still nothing.

"Commander Chakotay,"

It was the captain's voice. Chakotay faced a dilemma. He could break radio silence and answer her or he could ignore her. The latter way will tell the captain something is wrong and she would go ahead carefully. On the other hand, if he answers he has to choose carefully what to tell her without the enemy figuring it out. Sadly every moment of hesitation was crucial.

"Yes, Captain?" He decided to risk it.

"We shall return shortly to Voyager."

"Did you find what we came for?"

"Yes, and more,"

"Captain..."

"I shall explain once the Qu..." Captain Janeway began saying.

"Captain," Chakotay repeated emphasizing on his words. "Captain, we experienced power failure on all decks."

"What?" Captain Janeway exclaimed loudly. Her voice showed concern.

"We shall have it fixed in thirteen hours. The backups kicked in as expected."

"Understood. Janeway out."

* * *

Down on the surface, Captain Janeway looked at the Queen. "Are this ship's systems active?"

"Why?" The Queen asked.

"Something is wrong. I sensed it in his voice."

"He did say thirteen hours."

"Yes, but he meant thirteen,"

"I do not understand."

"Do they work or not?"

"Yes,"

"Scan the area around Voyager!"

"What am I looking for?"

"Cloaked ships,"

The Queen looked strangely at her. How did she understand he meant cloaked ships?

"On Earth, thirteen is a number usually associated with bad luck." Captain Janeway elaborated.

"So?"

"There are ships around Voyager. Since they have not attacked yet they are probably cloaked and Commander Chakotay assumes the enemy monitors the coms therefore he can't speak plainly without alerting them."

"I understand." The Queen said finally understanding. Sometimes the humans did things no one could understand. But there was some logic in her words. She activated the ship's sensors and directed them up.

The ship's sensors immediately picked up something. The Queen gathered it was something the ship knew from before as it was in its database. "Captain,"

Captain Janeway came to the screen. There was much on these consoles she did not understand but the shown image told her everything. Their common enemy has come to them. The sensors revealed a massive fleet of pyramid ships all cloaked and somewhat close to Voyager. The situation was not good.

"Does this ship have any offensive weapons?" Captain Janeway asked.

"Yes, it does." The Queen replied. "It is just..."

"What?"

"I can't fly this ship."

"What? Why not?"

"I have not been able to determine that." The Queen replied.

Great, Captain Janeway thought. She had the ship. She had the weapons but they could not use them. And she also had to communicate with her ship without alerting the enemy. Of course she wondered why they have not attacked yet despite their obvious advantage.

* * *

First Prime Aken turned to his master. "Milord,"

"What is it?"

"Sensors pick up a scanning ray."

"Where is it coming from?"

"The surface,"

"The Tauri shuttle?"

"No,"

Anubis stayed pensive. His next move will decide how this will go. Perhaps the Tauri were of aware them after all. They probably wondered why he has not attacked yet. It was the only advantage he had so far. But victory though certain was not his goal.

"Milord the scanning ray..."

"What of it?"

"It is Ancient."

"WHAT?" Anubis exclaimed stunned. How did they get their hands on one? And suddenly everything made perfect sense to him. That explained the tablet he found about the Borg's masters. "That explains a lot."

"Milord?"

"The Borg creators, Aken, they are the Replicators. That's why they keep evading us." Anubis understood now. The Borg creators used hyperspace ships. He had the last piece of the puzzle.

"What are your orders, Milord?"

Dark flames covered Anubis eyes. "Decloak the fleet and hail the Tauri. The end begins now..."

* * *

Commander Chakotay wondered how long they would continue to hold their breath but got his answer soon enough.

"Commander," Ensign Kim exclaimed but there was no need to ask what the reason was.

All around them Pyramid ships came into view. It was the new enemy of the Borg. Chakotay noticed they were in greater number than he expected. They stood surrounded. There was nowhere to run or hide.

"They want to talk." Ensign Kim announced.

"We are also targeted." Commander Tuvok informed.

""Open channel," Commander Chakotay ordered.

"Should I raise shields?" Tuvok asked.

"Not yet, but be ready,"

The screen activated and Chakotay starred stunned. On the other side was a human. Something in his appearance however sent shivers down Chakotay's spine. He thought it was the glint in the eyes.

The man opened his mouth and the sound of his voice resonated on Voyager's bridge.

"I am ANUBIS!"

* * *

**To be continued in the last chapter...**

**And don't forget to review. It only takes a couple of minutes. Thank you!**

**Lordheaven**


	16. Diversion Part I

**A/N: Hi, thanks for the many reviews, I appreciated. **

**A/N2: Many suggested that this cannot be the last chapter and I've come to agree. This story will end with chapter 20 and then it will continue in 'Masters and Gods'. **

**A/N3: In the sequel, we will have more of Captain Sisko and the Dominion. I kind of neglected them here. The Q will be there too. There will be also other races of the Star Trek universe that will present a challenge for the SG universe. And you will have the reason Admiral Benson acted so unlike a Federation citizen. Let's just say that there are other forces at play.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter and those to come, and most importantly REVIEW!**

* * *

**Disclaimer: The characters of Star Trek belong to Paramount. The characters of the Four Orders are entirely my own. ****The characters of Stargate belong to MGM but the words are mine.**

* * *

**AU/DS9/TNG/SGC: The war with the Dominion takes a turn for the worse. The sudden cry for help from the Q Continuum diverts the Federation's attention to investigate a mystery buried deep into Earth's past: a secret so dangerous that it divides the Earth in two and reshapes the galaxy.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Diversion Part I **

**Captured**

**Previously:**

Commander Chakotay wondered how long they would continue to hold their breath but got his answer soon enough.

"Commander," Ensign Kim exclaimed but there was no need to ask what the reason was.

All around them Pyramid ships came into view. It was the new enemy of the Borg. Chakotay noticed they were in greater number than he expected. They stood surrounded. There was nowhere to run or hide.

"They want to talk." Ensign Kim announced.

"We are also targeted." Commander Tuvok informed.

""Open channel," Commander Chakotay ordered.

"Should I raise shields?" Tuvok asked.

"Not yet, but be ready,"

The screen activated and Chakotay stared stunned. On the other side there was a human. Something in his appearance however sent shivers down Chakotay's spine. He thought it was the glint in the eyes.

The man opened his mouth and the sound of his voice resonated on Voyager's bridge.

"I am ANUBIS!"

**And now:**

* * *

There was silence on Voyager's bridge. Chakotay assumed it was because of the name and the way of delivery. Anubis in Ancient Egyptian mythology was the dark god of the underworld. God, the word itself resonated in his mind.

Nah, Chakotay thrust head. Gods do not take the form of humans and fly around with space ships. They have seen their share of strange things in the galaxy, met impossible creatures but gods, no way and yet something in that being on the screen beckoned caution.

He assumed it was the glint in the eyes that grew into a sudden glow. It had the desired effect as Chakotay noticed all around. It scared people. Even Tuvok did not stay perfectly calm as he usually did.

The other parts of the effect were the ships. Pyramid ships all painted in black flew in close formation around the major pyramid. That ship was easily several times bigger than the Great Pyramid in Giza. It was huge. Black is the color of space and of death and Chakotay found Anubis chose it well to represent him.

The silence grew thicker and Anubis apparently did not seem in a hurry to break it as Chakotay observed. He was certain every member of the crew stood near a screen and watched mesmerized. This creäture played its cards well. But Chakotay was not to give him the satisfaction.

"I'm Commander Chakotay of the Federation Starship USS Voyager."

"Pity," Anubis replied with a whisper no louder than a hiss.

Chakotay frowned. What did he mean? Why pity?

"I'm the bearer of bad news, Commander."

"How is that?" Chakotay asked.

"The Federation is no more. It tore itself apart. Civil war, very sad," Anubis' eyes flashed with a glow.

"Civil war?" Chakotay repeated.

"Yes, very sad," Anubis replied.

Chakotay though could see the smile dancing on Anubis' lips. It was clear he rejoiced in this news. He was no friend to them. But then he got to thinking – how could there be a civil war? They did not hear anything. And then it hit Chakotay. They haven't heard of Starfleet for months.

Anubis decided to press his advantage and ordered his Avidans to send data over the state of the Federation. His spy satellites captured most engagements.

Chakotay was about to say something to this smug creäture when the view screen changed and showed him. Horror replaced his expression. Civil war – there has not been one for over three centuries. This smug creäture did not bluff.

"How did this come to pass?" Chakotay said out loud though he did not direct it at anyone in particular.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, the Alk'esh Anubis sent out appeared. They established high orbit and awaited their master's orders.

First Prime Aken appeared.

"What does Anubis command?" Avidan Trell asked.

"Land on the planet. Find the Ancient vessel. Subdue the human or humans and bring them to Anubis." Aken replied.

"Yes, First Prime,"

"And Trell, no mistakes this time, Anubis will not tolerate any." The transmission ended.

"Cloak the ships," Trell ordered.

The Alk'esh made their way through the layers of the planet's atmosphere. They landed on the other side of the mountain ridge where the human vessel was. The Avidans left the ships and using the wrist cloaks disappeared.

They found their way into the mountain using their scanning devices. The inside was of strange design. It was all in eerie green color with blinking lights. Trell assumed it was the Borg look (and he was right).

Soon they found a passageway but it stood blocked. A force field of Borg origin protected it. Trell smiled and discharged his modified staff weapon in it and the force field dropped. The Avidans and he crossed the threshold.

They found themselves inside a large cavern where a ship of the Ancients stood. It was magnificent. It was probably built at the height of the Ancient's time. They found the way in and proceeded to the bridge. Everything in its design was of great elegance and beauty. The Goa'uld sadly could never reach such level.

The bridge doors opened and the Avidans entered. It was empty, which was strange. Anubis' ship definitely detected a scanning ray so where the humans were. Trell reached the control consoles and noticed some of them stood active. He smiled. The Avidans did not have the Ancient gene but they knew this ship inside out.

Trell bypassed the security measures. It gave him absolute control over the ship's systems. He used the internal sensors. They picked up two signatures moving.

"Go get them." He ordered the rest of the Avidans.

He got on powering up fully the ship. Surprisingly or not everything still worked perfectly. These Ancients, Trell thought built lasting things.

* * *

Captain Janeway and the Queen picked up the incoming ships despite the fact they stood cloaked. They quickly understood they were soon to defend themselves but without control over the ship's systems they could not do anything. They needed to leave. The Queen was not very keen on this idea but they had no choice.

They left the bridge just in time. The aliens' ships had landed and their troops were already in the mountain corridors. It was surprisingly fast. They had underestimated the enemy's capabilities.

The Queen led the way but Janeway had the feeling she did not know the ship that well. She turned out right. Soon they reached a dead-end and had to go back. Captain Janeway did not criticize the Queen as it was not the time to point fingers.

Soon, Janeway's tricorder registered a strange spike in the radiation column. She remembered it from the last time. It was still far, well two corridors away. There was little choice they had to find an exit quickly or they will fall prey to the enemy.

Sadly the doors stood blocked. Janeway understood the enemy had control over the ship's systems. This suggested they knew of it, which she found interesting. She took her phaser in hand and took defensive stance. The Queen stood ready too.

A bluish blast erupted from one of the doors that had opened. Janeway dodged it and replied with the phaser. Another blast erupted and hit the Queen. She staggered and fell. Janeway had no choice but stand before her hoping she would snap out of the effects of that weapon that seemed to incapacitate.

Sadly the captain did not have much luck either as she lost consciousness shortly after. She never saw it coming. The door behind her had opened and a blast hit her in the back. The Avidan decloaked. He bent down and picked up the captain. Another appeared and took the Queen.

"We have them."

"Bring them here." Trell commanded.

* * *

Here got out his sphere communication ball and called Aken. "First Prime, we have them. One is Borg."

"Excellent news," Aken exclaimed. "Show us."

The Avidans brought the Queen and the captain before the sphere. On the other side, Anubis' eyes diverted from the screen and into the communication sphere. Joy filled him. It was the Queen of the Borg.

"Bring them here." He commanded.

"What shall we do with the Tauri vessel, Milord?" Aken asked pointing at Voyager.

Anubis honestly did not believe his luck. He did not expect to find the queen of the Borg this easily and capture her. Of course his main targets were at first the Borg masters – Zero Complex Zero. At the time, he did not know they were the Replicators. Now that he knew his plans changed. He will possess the Queen and all of the Borg will fall in line. His victory was so close but it will take time to prepare.

Anubis now turned his attention to Voyager. He could easily destroy it but the spirit of its commander he liked. Perhaps he could use him. He doubted of course the good commander will come easily.

The SGC's forces were soon to find him and he needed an advantage. This Tauri vessel, Anubis thought, will do just fine as a distraction.

"Your people, Commander, have sent search parties for you." Anubis said catching Chakotay off guard. "I know where they are. I shall give you their coördinates."

Chakotay found the sudden change of subject as a warning. "Raise shields." He ordered Tuvok that obeyed promptly. "Harry, raise the captain."

"There is no answer."

Anubis on the other side of the screen smiled. "You can have your captain too. I have no use of her."

"Where is she?" Chakotay asked.

"She is with my people. She was sadly with an enemy of mine. But you can have her."

"What's the catch?"

"No catch, Commander. I need only the Borg."

* * *

Chakotay signaled Tuvok to mute the conversation. "Have they targeted us?"

"No,"

Chakotay did not know what to do. The enemy's strategy was unclear to him. He could not simply declare they stood with the Borg.

"Scan the enemy ships. It is what our mission is anyway." He ordered. "Let's see what makes them tick."

"Tick, Commander?" Tuvok looked at him questioningly. Chakotay shook head.

"Never mind, just scan them."

Tuvok obeyed. The data flowed in and it did not feel encouraging. The main ship had the highest level of shielding he had ever seen. It had more than thirty batteries for projectile energy based beams. There were also another few batteries with unknown for him purposes. Tuvok summarized those would have the Borg technology disruptor beams.

It had four hangar bays full of small ships he assumed were space fighters. There were also larger ships that were bigger than Federation shuttles. The ship had no warp drive. Its sublight engines used highly radioactive power source Voyager's database did not recognize.

The hull seemed to have energy absorption and signal deflection properties as it took Tuvok more time than usual to scan the enemy ship. Everything he received as data he shared immediately with his crew.

Chakotay did not feel optimistic. The enemy was definitely stronger than they were. But he doubted this large ship was as maneuverable as Voyager. They have faced tough opponents in the past. They could handle this pyramid fellow. Of course he did remember the enemy had many ships not just one.

He suddenly noticed Anubis was no longer on the screen. Now there was only the empty chair with the Egyptian symbols of Anubis – the jackal head and a crown of stars. Still he could see the inside of this throne room.

It had one console on the right and front of the chair with two blue domes half a meter of each other and some blinking lights. There was also a display of the space area they were in and as Chakotay noticed it was pretty detailed. This made Chakotay realize the enemy ship's sensors were as advanced as theirs.

Of course, it made him wonder what this console controlled. Was it weapons or navigation or general sensors? He needed a closer look.

"Harry, zoom in."

"Commander?"

"We need a better look at that console."

"I shall try my best."

The screen refocused and the console came in closer view. It became clear the console controlled the weapons' systems. Sadly, the writing was in Ancient Egyptian or some form of it.

"Tuvok, see if the translation program can tell us, what that is,"

Tuvok obliged and input the necessary in their system. Voyager's universal translator got to work and came empty. It was not every day this happened. Chakotay of course was not ready to declare defeat.

"Find me someone with knowledge of ancient Egyptian." He commanded.

"I'm afraid we have no one onboard with such knowledge, Commander." Tuvok informed.

"We never had the use of that." Tom said. "Usually the universal translator handles everything."

"Well today it failed." Chakotay observed frustrated. "We need to use every available second to study the enemy. Whatever his agenda it is not good."

"If they wanted to attack they would have done so already." Tom remarked.

"They still can." Chakotay reminded pointing at the fleet of ships surrounding them. "Tuvok, can you find the captain or the Queen?"

"I shall try."

"The Borg Queen has some unique signature. Find her and the captain will be there too."

"Not necessarily," Tuvok countered but continued scanning the enemy ship. "There are several heavily shielded places on that ship."

"Keep looking," Chakotay said. "Harry, you and Tom, I want you to find me some weakness we can use. No shielding is that good."

"Ay, sir,"

* * *

Meanwhile onboard Anubis' ship, the Avidans brought the captain and the Queen before Anubis. They placed them in the brig and raised the shield wall. Anubis preferred using the Ancients' detention system. It was far more reliable than that of the Goa'uld and far more difficult to escape from.

Captain Janeway regained consciousness and studied her new surroundings. She did not feel encouraged. The design was like that of the ship they were on with the Queen. Four square walls surrounded her and between the cracks a force field. There were no visible controls around to show a locking mechanism.

She sought the Queen and found her in a cell next to hers. The Queen was out. Whatever they hit her with held her still unconscious. On each side of the cells there were two soldiers holding long staffs that she assumed were their weapons. On the side, each had smaller weapon with a Z shape. They wore long mantles and embroidered on the back was a jackal's head with a crown of stars.

Everything around also had tons of hieroglyphs. This type of writing she usually associated with Ancient Egypt. Archeology and old languages was not her domain. It was strange for her though. Usually the aliens they met had no ties with Earth, actually none of them had. This alien ship however had strong ties with Earth's past. She spotted even some ideograms.

The guards at her cell stood attentive and so Captain Janeway turned her attention. A door opened and someone came in. As the figure came into focus, Captain Janeway stared disbelievingly. It was a human (not a humanoid but a human). He circled her cell and his eyes studied her. She did not like the look though. It was cold and predatory.

Captain Janeway noticed the eyes lit up with insatiable joy when they fell on the Borg Queen and a dark smile appeared on the face. The figure then reached the front of her cell and the cold look locked into her body studying every inch of it with a strange lust. The captain was certain it was not the usual sexual lust. It was something else.

"I am Anubis." He said but Captain Janeway shivered as his voice resonated in the room.

Captain Janeway swallowed but composed herself. "I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship USS Voyager."

"Ah, the Federation, such pity,"

"Pity?" Captain Janeway eyed him.

"Yes, I'm afraid they did not tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"Your Federation doesn't exist anymore. At least not in the way it did before." Anubis said with a softer voice. "It tore itself apart. Civil war, very sad,"

"Why should I believe you?"

Anubis smiled. "Believe oh no, believe is not a need, captain. But the facts are hard…"

"What facts?"

"See for yourself," Anubis stood aside. A brown ball floated. Its middle cleared and images filled it.

Captain Janeway could hardly believe her eyes but Federation ships fought other Federation ships. Earth was in fires, smoke and ashes. Buildings stood in ruins. There were fights on the streets, fights in New Berlin, fights in the skies, fights in space, fights in the docks, fights everywhere.

She kept hoping to see the alien pyramid ships anywhere or Romulan war birds, or Klingon battle cruisers but there were none. Instead, there were Federation ships, Vulcan cruisers, Andorian battleships, and many others, members of the Federation.

"No," Captain Janeway whispered. She usually was tough and did not show weakness before enemies but this was a hard blow. She kept hoping this man before her lied but the hard truth stared from the screen of the floating ball. "How?"

"What I know is that a rogue element of your Federation, something called Section 31 tried to seize control." Anubis informed. "And the fights erupted."

"Section 31?" Captain Janeway exclaimed. Anubis sensed a pinch of hatred in her voice tone.

"What are they?" He asked.

"The Federation created Section 31 a long time ago to combat threats usual channels could not. But they grew out of control. For many years, the Federation council tried to get rid of them but like weed they keep coming back."

"Sad," Anubis observed compassionately. He found the disruption of Section 31 most welcoming but even he figured they would become annoying for his agenda if allowed to thrive. "Perhaps, Captain, we can help one another."

"Really? I don't see how." Captain Janeway replied. "I'm your prisoner."

"Not for long, Captain," Anubis said. "You are not my target. This abomination next to you however is. What do you know of the Borg, Captain?"

"Not much,"

"Really and yet you are in league with it." Anubis said and his eyes flickered. "My Avidans said you protected with your body this thing. Now why is that?"

"The Federation values life even of those that do not deserve it." Captain Janeway replied and then quickly tried to correct herself. "I mean…"

"Oh, I understand completely." Anubis interrupted. "They are the plague of the galaxy. They kill without remorse, without any feeling. They convert every being they meet into them, suppressing everything they were. You are right, Captain, they are monsters and they do not deserve to live, most of the time."

Captain Janeway could not have said it better. That's who the Borg are. They are the plague of the galaxy. But she also remembered what the Borg Queen told them. This enemy seeks to conquer the Borg not destroy them.

"And you seek to free the galaxy of the Borg?" She asked studying Anubis carefully.

"After a fashion," Anubis replied. "You see, Captain, two objects cannot occupy the same space."

"She was right. You want to conquer them, control them."

Anubis smiled. He did not expect the Borg to have understood his intentions. Actually he was certain they did not understand his intentions. They couldn't. They couldn't imagine what his plans are but soon they will. And it is worse than they could have imagined.

"One cannot control these things, Captain."

"So what? One can only destroy them?"

"You have a better solution?"

"Yes, the Borg drones can regain themselves if separated from the hive mind."

"Oh, ingenious,"

"I have done it already."

"And how long does it take?"

"It depends."

"And do you think the Borg will simply let you free the drones?" Anubis asked. "You are not that naïve, Captain."

"No one said they would but it is the best way. Of course…"

"Yes?"

"If we can find the Borg source, main facility and dispose of it, they will all be free."

"That might prove difficult. The Borg main facility is out of reach for your kind, Captain."

"What do you mean?" Captain Janeway frowned.

Anubis laughed. He now knew how much the captain knew of the Borg and it was not that much. She understood the hierarchy and some of their workings but knew nothing of their origins. He, himself, did not know until recently. He knew of course of Zero Complex Zero, which is the main Borg facility where Queens come from.

"Have you ever asked yourself how are the Borg Queens selected?" Anubis probed.

"Yes, but…"

"You never knew how." Anubis interrupted. "Well, let's just say, your Borg friends, Captain, are most ingenious. You see they understand that keeping all your eggs in a single basket is a bad move and a dangerous one hence their main facility is never in one place twice."

"What?" Captain Janeway exclaimed involuntarily. This man knew the Borg like no other this much was clear. He knew more than they did. And what he said made perfect sense and logic. Of course there was much risk involved in moving around one's most precious secret.

Anubis left the brig but returned shortly with a small tablet that had writing on it.

"This, Captain, is a treasure your Borg friends will destroy anyone for having it. And I do mean destroy not assimilate."

"Why?"

"It holds the testimony of an old race that catalogued the Borg's origins and how their civilization works. Everything you ever wanted to know about the Borg is right here."

Captain Janeway focused on the little tablet. She doubted something so small could hold all that he said it did. But she could understand if true that the Borg would seek to destroy anyone who possesses it.

* * *

A sudden clatter and a grouching sound diverted her attention. It was the Borg Queen. She was up and about and the look in her eyes frantic. It stood focused on the tablet. She made several attempts to break through the force field.

"Ah, the guest of honor is finally awake." Anubis said. "I wouldn't bother if I were you, my dear." He added. "This force field is beyond your skills."

"I will be the judge of that." The Queen hissed. "I will overcome it."

Anubis laughed. "Please feel free to try as many times as you want." And he continued laughing.

This alone enraged the Queen even more. She crashed into the force field many times before Anubis decided to end it. He raised his hand and a bluish blast erupted. The Queen staggered and fell down to the floor, unconscious.

"That's enough for now. We don't want you to damage yourself that much, dear." Anubis said and his eyes glowed. Actually, he feared she might find a way around it. The Replicators had the same tendency given time.

"You said you'd let me go?" Captain Janeway reminded of her presence.

Anubis turned his attention at her. He sensed a powerful spirit and wondered what to do with it. She understood the danger the Borg were but then again so were the Goa'uld. Of course the latter were slightly different. Still, the captain's and her faithful commander's spirits, he liked. Divide and conquer, it was a human strategy but very useful.

If he were to convert her, she will create a diversion. Yes, this seemed the best choice. She will then convert the first officer and then the rest. By the time, the SGC finds them the entire ship will have Goa'uld look. Anubis laughed again amused.

His eyes locked at the captain's and instinctively she stepped back. There was it again, the unusual lust.

"Take her." He commanded to his Avidans. "And prepare her for the return."

The closest Avidan touched his wrist and the force field fell. He got in and pushed her out. Captain Janeway considered resisting but doubted she would make it far so she let it happen. She did not have much of a choice either.

* * *

They led her down a corridor again in the same hue as the cell area. Tons of hieroglyphs covered the wall. She would have enjoyed studying them. They reached a circular area and stopped in the middle. She wondered why though not for long. The Avidan that led her touched again his wrist. A hole in the ceiling opened and metallic circles fell around them. There was a flash of light and then the circles returned to the ceiling.

Captain Janeway wondered why they came down at all. But then as they left she saw the difference in the corridors' hieroglyphs. She had it now. They were on a different floor. So these circles were their way of transport. It felt almost like Federation transports. Still she thought the Federation turbo lifts were the better way for transport.

The Avidan pushed her in a room full of soft beds and pillows. She wondered again why until a nasty thought came to her mind. Anubis intended to mate with her. She remembered the lust in his eyes. And when the Avidan started taking her clothes off she began resisting. It did not help her though. Two more Avidans came in and helped out. Soon she was left only with her birthday suit.

A sphere floated before her and she felt strange tingling. The sphere's middle then filled with Anubis' face. First instinct was to cover oneself but Captain Janeway resisted it. Anubis' smile grew.

"Excellent specimen," He said. "Men should find you attractive, Captain."

Captain Janeway chose not to reply. Her captor's idea of letting someone go apparently was very different from the rest of the galaxy.

"I'm sure you wonder of your fate, Captain." Anubis continued as though reading her mind.

"Not really,"

Anubis laughed again. "You should."

"Men are easy to predict."

Anubis broke into harder laughter. Poor little human, he thought, she had no clue. That was good, Anubis thought. It is best that way.

"Put her in the chambers and attire her properly."

* * *

Captain Janeway wondered what he meant. Did they take her clothes off so this thing can only have a look at her and then cloth her again? When the Avidan appeared with a transparent gown she understood whatever this was it was not over.

Dressed now, they took her to another chamber. There was only one piece of furniture – a bed or so she thought from afar. Up close it turned out a rectangular table. They put her to lay face down and held her down.

She felt the cold surface and kept wondering of her fate. The thought of mating accompanied by raping kept resurfacing in her mind. Still, she knew nothing of this being that held her. Though Anubis looked human the glow in his eyes suggested otherwise. There were many members in the Federation that looked perfectly human and yet they were not.

She stayed pinned to the table for a long time during which many dark thoughts crossed her mind. Most of her hopes however were directed at her crew. They would find a way to get her out. She usually did not feel this eager to escape when in enemy hands as the captain of a ship rarely left for away missions. This time things stood differently. She felt fear and it was because of this being.

Still she was the captain of her ship. Hell, she was a captain of a Federation ship. She will not yield easily whatever this thing had planned. She will show him how strong she was. She did not yield to powerful beings. Q failed and thus this thing will not succeed either. Of course, Q's methods now were preferable.

Q, her mind suddenly sent out a plea for the powerful, omnipotent being. Q, come, I need you. Her mind screamed it and hoped. She needed him like never, an undefined feeling in her longed for him to hear her. Whatever the plan of her captor she would most certainly not enjoy it. Q, where are you? Her thoughts stood focused on Q, the elegant though mischievous being. The rest of her thoughts revolved around raping, mating, raping and Gods know what else horrible and disgusting thing her captor had planned.

She heard footsteps and her mind turned to its source. Her eyes saw a shadow approaching. It stopped just before her. She thought – this is it. He had come at last to do the heinous act. What kind of creäture was he?

Suddenly the Avidan turned her head to the left and she had a better view. She found the sight strange. There was a rectangular transparent container with some liquid. She heard a strange sound that resembled a scream but its pitch was less sharp. She was a shape indicating there was something in the liquid, something alive. What was that thing?

Next to the container she saw another Avidan. He held large forceps. She wondered why. A sudden movement caught her attention. It was Anubis. He entered the room too with a dark, sinister but triumphant look.

"Captain Kathryn Janeway," He said. Actually his mouth produced a whisper. It was a loud one and one that sent shivers down her spine. "Under any other circumstances, I would have let you go untouched. But time advances against us. Pity."

"What do you want of me?" Captain Janeway asked.

"I need a distraction. I need something to occupy the time of my enemies and you are perfect for the job." Anubis replied while circling around the transparent container. "Well, you and your ship will do just fine."

"My crew will not coöperate."

Anubis stopped before her and his eyes glowed. "Really?"

This time Captain Janeway shivered and quivered with fear. Anubis' voice was no longer smooth but hoarsely throaty and dark. "We shall see." And he reached inside the transparent container. When his hand resurfaced it held a small snake-like creäture. Janeway realized it was this creäture she heard make the strange scream sound.

"You shall get acquainted very intimately." Anubis continued with the dark voice and the satanic smile on his face grew as he placed the creäture on her back.

The touch was unpleasant. Captain Janeway started wriggling hoping to throw the intruder off her back. She resisted with every fiber in her being but the Avidans kept her pinned down. She felt the creäture slide up her back. She felt its pointy protrusions touch her neck and shivered again. The touch was most unpleasant. She redoubled her efforts to push free of the strong hands holding her down.

Anubis moved in front of her. He held his arm forth and a light came out of it. She never felt anything like this before. Her body wriggled as the pain was intolerable. Her resistance subdued over the passing seconds and soon she surrendered to the pain. She sensed then the creature's protrusions backing away and for a moment she felt relief.

The moment passed and the sensation that followed was much more horrible than the one before. She felt with every fiber the snake puncture the skin of her neck and enter in her body. It was agony. She almost lost consciousness.

She hoped the pain will subdue but she was deadly wrong. It was even worse than before and it increased in strength. And it was then she sensed another presence. It was the mind of that creäture. It attempted to gain control. She had under her belt many unpleasant memories but none like this. Even when the Borg attempted to convert her it was not nearly as bad.

She held on her memories and used them to repulse this creäture from her mind and though her resistance was impressive she felt the creäture slowly pushing through her defenses. Without help she will soon lose the battle. She used whatever strength she had left and pushed back. For a moment she succeeded but only a moment.

The mind of the intruder was powerful. She felt it. She felt it even more when it began to overpower her. And in one tiny moment she saw its avatar and this feat alone broke down all her defenses. It was Anubis. How was that possible? In how many pieces can he break his mind? How many bodies can he put it into? What kind of creäture was he?

The light before her eyes changed. She focused one last time and saw something scary. She lay on the table no longer. Her body was up and it moved but she did not do that. It stopped before a mirror and there she saw it – her own body and yet she had no control over it. Her eyes glowed like those of Anubis just moments ago. Suddenly she felt falling and the sight of her own reflection drew more distant until she felt looking through spyglasses. It was the end she was her no more. Anubis had control now, absolute control.

"Milord," The body of Kathryn Janeway said bowing before Anubis.

Anubis stood pleased and impressed. The good captain resistance was impressive. He was right about her. She had a powerful spirit. But nothing and no one can resist him for long.

"Seshat, my Queen," Anubis said. "We have much to discuss and very little time."

"Yes, Milord,"

* * *

The two left the room and headed to another one. There in one aquarium stood a Goa'uld mother. She kept spawning children. Anubis reached her and caressed her (although it is not her per say. It was he. Yes, it was Anubis).

"How many are aboard Voyager?" Anubis asked.

"One hundred thirty-six crew members,"

"Will any of them pose a problem?"

"The EMH might."

"EM what?"

"Emergency Medical Hologram,"

"Ah, these humans and their toys," Anubis exclaimed. "Will any of the other species be a problem?"

"I don't know."

"Convert all the humans first." Anubis said. "Experiment with the rest later,"

"Yes, milord,"

"I shall put you on the surface in a shielded area. They will have to come to you."

"We mustn't make it too easy for them."

"Of course not," Anubis said. "I need you to buy as much time as you can. The Queen of the Borg presents a challenge. I did not expect to have to do it this soon."

"We then have another problem. Seven of Nine is a former drone. She still has Borg components in her."

"But she is mostly human?"

"Yes,"

Anubis was pensive. "This will not present a problem. If she dies then she was not worthy."

"Yes, milord."

Anubis finished preparing the container for the surface. He turned to his new Queen and handed it to her. "Go now, Seshat, my Queen, and I shall await your glorious return to me."

"Yes, Milord Anubis,"

Seshat (Janeway) left the pyramid and headed for the surface aboard an Alk'esh. Anubis waited until she makes contact so he can tell the humans where to collect their captain and thus the rein of the Goa'uld aboard Voyager can begin.

* * *

Commander Chakotay was in the captain's room. He paced nervously up and down. They were out of contact with the captain for over six hours. Tuvok's efforts to find their trace onboard the pyramid vessel yielded at nothing. Their sensors could not penetrate the six heavily shielded areas each of which could contain their captain and the Borg Queen.

The enemy apparently did not mind Voyager scanning their ships at all. They even did not respond to Voyager's increased battle readiness. All this told Chakotay they felt safe around Voyager. And when an enemy feels this way it usually means they do not fear an attack. Of course Chakotay considered this an advantage. Sadly he had no idea how to use it.

Ensign Kim's and Tom Parris' analysis of the enemy's defenses did not yield positive result. Every scenario so far ended catastrophically bad for Voyager. Of course Chakotay like many Starfleet officers before him did not believe in unbeatable enemies. But sadly the facts were difficult to deny. These ships were way too powerful for Voyager's capabilities.

Still six hours was nothing. Their captain had been in captivity for longer periods. But of none of these earlier times had Chakotay worried this much. This creäture struck fear with ease. His crew had faced many enemies but none succeeded in the first appearance to send shivers down their backs. The resonating voice still haunted many of them, including him.

"Commander,"

It was Tuvok's voice. Chakotay tapped his com badge. "Yes, what is it?"

"It is Anubis."

Chakotay sighed and prepared. He left the captain's room and appeared on the bridge. The face of Anubis occupied the screen.

"Ah, Commander," Anubis said with an oily voice that Chakotay did not like.

"Where is my captain?" Chakotay asked.

"She is on the surface. These are her coördinates." Anubis replied and tapped something on a screen before him. "The area is heavily shielded. You can go and rescue her after my armada leaves. You make any attempt before that and I will – how is that lovely human expression – ah, yes, blow you out of the sky."

"You are welcome to try." Tom exclaimed unable to resist.

Anubis chose to ignore him and Chakotay was grateful for that. He of course understood everyone was on edge. This creäture had that effect.

"She was not onboard your ship?"

"No, we held her down for questioning. You understand well, Commander, I had to understand what prompts a human to defend an abomination…"

"The Borg?"

"Yes, whatever you call them. I'm afraid she resisted a bit." Anubis' eyes flickered with dangerous flames. "But don't worry she is mostly intact."

Chakotay's face said it all but he quickly composed himself. "I see."

"Yes, I think you shouldn't leave this place in a hurry, Commander."

"Really and why is that?"

"I think what you find down will answer you better." Anubis replied with a mysterious smile dancing on his face. "My armada will leave soon and you can go collect your captain…"

"And the Borg Queen?"

"The abomination, well, she stays with me." Anubis answered and then let a tiny laugh but one that sent shivers down everyone's spines. It was sinister .

Everyone understood that they will not see the Borg Queen again. This creäture held some particulate hatred in his voice every time he said abomination.

"Whether you believe me or not, Commander, the place down there holds an interesting allure for your kind." Anubis said.

"Why?"

"Go and find out. Trust me it will turn your world upside down. All you thought you knew…well…" Anubis disappeared and the screen deactivated.

* * *

Chakotay wondered of Anubis' insistence for them to stay longer and study whatever they find. He was certain this creäture had an ulterior motive. But now there was no point in guessing.

"Mr. Tuvok, scan the surface." He commanded.

Tuvok obliged but the only thing he picked up was the shuttlecraft.

"I'm sorry, Commander." He said. "Sensors pick up only the shuttle. They also pick up a shielded area inside the mountain close to it."

"If he held the captain down there where are his warriors and why did we not pick them up?"

"It is fair question."

"And I want an answer."

Chakotay found the question that bothered him most disturbing. Anubis played his cards very close to his heart and yet he stayed open about other things. It was a curious contradiction. Of course one doesn't show his plans to the enemy but still. Why did he insist they spent time down on the surface? What allure did that place held for the human race?

Chakotay figured the only logical reason was Anubis wanted to buy himself time. But the question popped – why? Who was he afraid of? He remembered Anubis saying the Federation had sent search parties. He doubted though he was afraid of them. So who did he fear – the Borg? This seemed unlikely and yet perfectly logical.

The Borg have not come though. And Chakotay began wondering why. They should have by now found their Queen. But there were no spheres and no cubes. A question that had nagged at him for some time popped up too. Why didn't the Borg Queen call for reinforcements when she came onboard? The cubes could easily come and assimilate Voyager or force them to work together. They have done so in the past. So why not now, what is different now?

Chakotay suddenly had an epiphany. The Queen was no longer Queen. She often used the term I. He wondered how he did not notice this before. He also wondered whether his captain knew the Queen was here on her own. Still, it was commendable that the Queen even out of her throne continued to seek the wellbeing of her collective like any other ruler would.

"Chakotay," Tom's voice took Chakotay out of his thoughts. He pointed at the screen where the armada of pyramid ships moved fast away from the planet.

"How fast are they?" Chakotay turned to Ensign Kim.

"Impulse speed," Ensign Kim's voice trailed off. "They are twice as fast as our maximum impulse speed."

"Tuvok, keep your sensors on them." Chakotay commanded.

"I'm sorry, Commander. They just cloaked." Tuvok replied. "We lost them."

"Keep scanning the immediate area around the ship and the close surroundings. I don't want any surprises." Chakotay ordered. He of course did not see any point in the enemy staying behind but he was bound to use caution. "Tom, B'Elanna, Doctor, meet me at the launch bay. Mr. Tuvok, you have the bridge."

* * *

The shuttle loaded they left for the surface. Chakotay was impatient. He was afraid for the captain. She did not make contact when the enemy apparently left her. The shuttle cleared the atmosphere and the range of glaciers appeared before them. Tom directed the shuttle at the last coördinates of the Delta Flyer and landed near it.

B'Elanna and Chakotay boarded the Flyer but there was no sign of the captain in there. They left and with Tom and the Doctor proceeded inside the mountain following the coördinates Anubis gave them. Finding the secret entrance proved a challenge but soon they found it and got inside.

The inside was of Borg corridors and they followed them. Their first obstacle however was a Borg shield that blocked the way.

"See if there is another way in," Chakotay ordered.

"I can go through." The Doctor said but Chakotay caught him in time. "What?"

"It is a Borg force field, Doctor and it can damage your mobile emitter."

"And we do need you." Tom added.

"B'Elanna, did you find another way in?"

"No," B'Elanna replied after returning from her trip down the corridor.

Chakotay sighed and used his tricorder. He scanned the area around the force field. He realized now he could have used Seven's help.

"We can send for her, you know?" Tom said.

"We will manage." Chakotay replied going through the flowing data.

B'Elanna decided on a more direct approach and took out her phaser. She discharged it in the field but it withstood the blast. She did not feel discouraged though. She modulated the frequencies and kept firing. Tom joined her.

"Stop, stop, stop," Chakotay said raising his hands defensively. "I found another way." He directed his tricorder and pressed a combination on it. The field dissipated.

"What did you do?" Tom asked.

"I remembered something when the disgraced Queen was our guest." Chakotay replied with a smile.

"Disgraced?" B'Elanna looked at him questioningly.

"Well it makes sense." Tom said.

"It does?"

"I will explain later."

"Yes, later, the captain first," Chakotay said and proceeded through the threshold.

What they saw once they reached the end of the small tunnel leading from the Borg corridors to the inside did blow their minds. The large cavern housed a ship a big fish-shaped ship very much like the one the Queen's sphere had the misfortune of meeting.

"What is that?" The Doctor exclaimed.

* * *

**To be continued…**

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